About

Hanukkah is an 8-day Jewish holiday celebrated in late Autumn. It is customary for Jews on these days to pray and give gifts. On each day, Jews light a candle or oil lamp. Children also play dreidel, tops with marks signifying the empires that the Jews were exiled to.^[2]

Origin

In the second century BC, the Kingdom of Judah was part of the Seleucid Empire. Because the Jews were not allowed to adhere to their religious customs by Seleucid law,^[1] they rose against their masters in rebellion and successfully gained independence and freedom to worship. The Kingdom of Judah ordered the altar in the temple rebuilt, but there was only enough oil to light the altar for one day, and it would take 8 to make more oil. The one day of oil miraculously lasted eight days. Since then, the eight day miracle is celebrated as a Jewish holiday, in which it is customary to give gifts, light candles, eat food, and play games.

Modern Era

Hanukkah, along with Judaism has persisted and has a large niche in the ancestral lands of Israel as well as in the United States. Every year the holiday gets some amount of media coverage, often with public Menorah lightings.

External References

^[1] Perseus Digital Library – The Works of Josephus

^[2] Ohr Somayach – The Dreidel