Chanukah, or the Festival of Lights, is a special time of year for Jewish people around the world. Chanukah begins on the 25 th day of the month of Kislev on the Jewish calendar. On the western calendar, this holiday varies from year to year but usually occurs sometime between the end of November and the end of December. The holiday of Chanukah celebrates a military victory which occurred over two thousand years ago in the land of Judea. At that time, Judea was controlled by a Syrian-Greek king named Antiochus.
Antiochus ordered all the Jewish people living in the area to give up their customs and beliefs, their religion, their God, and their temples. He ordered them to worship only the Greek Gods. Some of the Jewish people obeyed the king’s orders, but others refused. One of the men who refused was named Judah Maccabee. Judah and his four brothers and a number of other men soon formed an army to fight against the Syrians. They called themselves the Maccabees. The Maccabees and the Syrians fought for almost three years until the Maccabees finally defeated the Syrians.
After the Maccabees had defeated the Syrians in Jerusalem, the Maccabees wanted to reclaim their temple and rededicate it to the worship of their God. They began to clean the temple, wash the walls and remove the Greek symbols and statues inside. When they finished restoring the temple, they looked for some oil to light the lamp which is present in every Jewish house of worship. They found a tiny jug of oil but knew it was only enough to last for one night. Then a miracle occurred. The oil burned not just for one night, but for eight nights. It lasted until a new supply of oil could be brought to the temple.
From that time on, Jews have celebrated Chanukah in memory of their victory over the Syrians and the miracle of the oil. The Hebrew word Chanukah means “dedication”, a reminder of their rededication of their temple so long ago. Nowadays, Jewish families celebrate Chanukah by lighting candles in a special candle holder called a menorah. A menorah holds nine candles. One candle is for each of the eight nights of Chanukah and one candle is used to light the others. On the first night of the celebration, one candle is lit. This continues each night until all the candles are lit. Special blessings are also said each night before the candles are lit.
Chanukah includes several other customs such as eating potato pancakes called latkes , playing a game with a spinning toy called a dreidel , and giving coins called Chanukah gelt to children. Chanukah occurs close to the Christian holiday of Christmas and has also become a time of gift giving, decorating the house, and entertaining families and friends.