Hanukkah - the Festival of Lights
Hanukkah (or Chanukah) is a Hebrew word meaning dedication and it is also the name of the Jewish holiday, known as the Festival of lights. The Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight consecutive days beginning from the 25th day of Kislev, the third month of the Jewish calendar. This corresponds roughly to the month of December (sometimes even November or January) of the Georgian calendar. Hanukkah is also known as the Feast of Dedication or Feast of the Maccabees because it is the Feast of Dedication celebrating the Maccabean victory.
History
Hanukkah, according to legend, is the celebrated victory of the Jews over the Greeks. Antiochus, the Greek King of Syria, barred the Jewish service from their holy temple and ordered them to worship Zeus and other Greek gods. Some Jews were afraid and obeyed them but most were angry and decided to fight back. In 165 B.C.E., Matthias, a Jewish High priest and his sons along with a few other Jews fought the Hellenist Syrians, evicted them from Israel and restored the Temple.
The Miracle
While cleaning and repairing the Temple, Matthias’s son Judah and other Jews wanted to light the menorah. They looked everywhere for oil and found a small container. It had just enough oil to light the menorah for one day but it miraculously lasted for eight. Today Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting candles in a menorah every night, thus honoring the eight-day miracle.
Traditions and food
One very essential Hanukkah tradition is the lighting of candles. Jews light candles in a special candleholder called a menorah or a hanukkiah. It is a large candle stand which can hold nine candles. The first night a single candle is lit and each night, one more candle is added. The middle candle, called the shamash, is used to light each of the other candles and it is lit every night. Therefore, on the first night of Hanukkah, two candles are lit (the shamash and the candle for the first night) and on the last night, all nine candles are lit up.
It is traditional to eat foods fried in oil during Hanukkah in remembrance of the oil that burned in the temple. Some common foods are potato latkes and sufganiot (jelly doughnuts). Eating dairy products, especially cheese, is another Hanukkah tradition.
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