A well known reason we play dreidel on Hanukkah is this: Before the miracle of Hanukkah, when those who controlled the land severely restricted Torah study, Jewish children would gather to study Torah in secret, and brought dreidels with them so that, should they be discovered by the authorities, they could appear to be playing rather than studying.
Nowadays, the letters "נ ג ה ש" on a dreidel are understood to stand for "נס גדול היה שם", "a great miracle happened there", viz the miracle of Hanukkah.
It is possible (and I have seen it suggested) that these letters were on the dreidels used before the miracle of Hanukkah. So what did "נ ג ה ש" stand for at that time?
(Inspired by msh210's PTIJ question. However, this is being asked as a serious question.)
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