Happy Hanukkah!

Continuing with my theme of holiday histories, I thought I might write a little bit about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Hanukkah begins tonight at sundown, and runs through sundown December 23.

Also known as the Festival of Lights, this holiday is in remembrance of the rededication of the Jewish temple (the word Hanukkah actually means “rededication“). The Jewish temple had been defiled by a Syrian king, who declared it to be a temple for the Greek god Zeus. Thanks to a bit of guerilla warfare led mainly by Judah Maccabee, the Syrians were eventually thrown out, and the temple was restored and rededicated in 165 BC. A small amount of oil expected to last one day, miraculously burned for the eight days of the feast, hence the eight candles of the menorah (nine if you count the servant candle called the Shamash).

As the centuries progressed, the Jewish people would come to identify more and more with this part of their history as their culture was continually under attack. Tonight, Jews who celebrate the holiday will likely light the first candle of the menorah. Some of them will sing, play the dreidel game, eat latkes, and hand out presents. Happy Hanukkah!