Image: Dov Harrington, The 8th Night, via Wikimedia Commons
The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah or Hanukah) began on sundown on December 6 of this year and will continue until sundown on the 14th. Also known as the “Festival of Lights,” the holiday celebrates the reclaiming of the holy Temple by the Jewish Maccabees from Antiochus IV Epiphanes around 160 BC.
According to the traditional Hanukkah story, the Jewish community purified the Temple by lighting a menorah which, although there was only enough oil to burn for one day, miraculously burned for eight days and eight nights. Therefore, Hanukkah is celebrated for the same length of time, and a Hanukkah menorah is lit with eight candles symbolizing the eight days of oil. (A ninth candle is used to light the other eight.) Each night, one additional candle is added, until on the final night all candles are lit.
Also symbolizing the miracle of the oil, Jews celebrate Hanukkah by frying potato pancakes (latkes) and jelly-filled donuts (sufganiyot) in oil. Driedel is a popular game, especially with children, where a four-sided top is spun to win coins or chocolate candy, and the sides of the top are decorated with the first letters of the phrase, “A Great Miracle Happened There.” Many families exchange Hanukkah gifts, sing songs, decorate their homes, and celebrate with friends during the eight-day holiday.
Learn more about our Cooperation Circles, many of whom are celebrating Hanukkah along with their Jewish friends this week.