Hannukah

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days and nights. It starts on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev, which coincides with late November-late December on the secular calendar.According to Jewish law, Hanukkah is one of the less important Jewish holidays. However, Hanukkah has become much more popular in modern practice because of its proximity to Christmas.

In Hebrew, the word “hanukkah” means “dedication.” The name reminds us that this holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E. A candle is lit each day of the celebration to remember the Maccabeans purification of the Temple by burning ritual oil in the Temple’s menorah for eight days.The story goes that there was only one day's worth of oil left in the Temple, but to to their surprise the small amount of oil lasted the full eight days.