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Hanukkah is an eight-day
celebration that begins
on the 25th
day of the Jewish
calendar month of
Kislev, which usually
falls during the month
of December, but
occasionally begins
during November.
Hanukkah (also
commonly spelled
"Chanukah") means
"dedication" in Hebrew.
The holiday goes back
almost 2,400 years, and
celebrates one of the
greatest miracles in
Jewish history, marking
the survival of Judaism.
Hanukkah refers to a
second century conflict
when Palestine was
caught between two great
Hellenistic powers:
Egypt and Syria. Under
Syrian power, there was
a campaign to establish
political and religious
conformity by
"Hellenizing" the Jews,
commanding them to
worship Greek gods while
oppressing Jewish
culture and religion.
Even more serious, the
Syrian emperor decreed
that the Temple in
Jerusalem, the national
house of worship, would
become a temple to the
Greek god Zeus.
A small band of
soldiers led by Judas
Maccabeus (also called
Judah Maccabee) and his
brothers staged a
successful rebellion
against the Syrians and
rededicated the Temple.
When Jerusalem's Temple
was reclaimed, the
Hebrews found it defiled
by statues of the Greek
gods and other religious
artifacts. They cleared
out the foreign icons
and rededicated the
temple on the 25th
day of Kislev. Hanukkah
celebrates the
restoration of religious
freedom and the
preservation of Jewish
customs as well as the
traditional Jewish
worship service.
The "Festival of
Lights" refers to the
legend of a miracle that
occurred during the
rededication of the
Temple. When the Jews
sought to rekindle the
menorah in the Temple
sanctuary, they could
find only one sanctified
jar of oil - marked with
the seal of the High
Priest. Miraculously,
the small portion of oil
burned for eight days -
the length of time
required to purify new
oil.
During the eight days
of Hanukkah, a candle is
lit each night to
commemorate the miracle
of the oil in the
Temple. Nine candles are
arranged in a candelabra
called a menorah – one
for each night, plus the
shamash or shammus
(meaning servant), the
candle used to light the
others. Candles are lit
from left to right, and
the shamash is placed in
the middle at a
different height.
Families gather at
nightfall to rekindle
the menorah flames,
rededicate themselves to
their faith, and share
in festive meals.
Blessings are sung or
recited as the candles
are lit.
Each night of
Hanukkah may feature
songs or readings, games
and gifts ranging from "gelt"
(money) to candy, to
other small presents.
One Hanukkah tradition,
especially for children,
is playing the dreidel
game with spinning tops.
On each of the four
sides of the dreidel,
there is one of the four
Hebrew letters that
stand for "Great Miracle
Happened There."
It is customary to
eat fried foods on
Hanukkah because of the
significance of oil to
the holiday. Special
potato pancakes fried in
oil called latkes are
served as a reminder of
the miraculous oil.
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