About Hanukkah

Hanukkah is the annual Jewish festival celebrated on eight successive days beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, the third month of the Jewish calendar, corresponding, approximately, to December in the Gregorian calendar. It is also known as the Festival of Lights, Feast of Dedication, and Feast of the Maccabees, Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem by Judas Maccabee in 165 BC after the Temple had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of Syria and overlord of Palestine.

The Jewish people held festivities in the Temple of Jerusalem, and rededicated it to God. After removing all Syrian idols from the Temple, the Jews found only one small cruse of oil which to light their holy lamps.

Miraculously, the cruse provided oil for eight days. Judas Maccabaeus, the Jewish leader, then proclaimed a festival to be observed by Jews.

During Hanukkah, gifts are exchanged and contributions are made to the poor. Each evening, one additional candle is lit on the Hanukkah menorah (candelabra). By the last evening, eight lighted candles stand together.

The celebration also reaffirms the continuing struggle to live by God's commandments and to lead Jewish lives. When all is said and done, perhaps the most important message of Hanukkah may be found in the name of the holiday itself: Dedication. When Jews have dedicated themselves, through faith and action, to the pursuit of high religious and human ideals, Judaism has been strong. That imperative, to strengthen our religion and our people, remains an important challenge at this season, in every generation. Hanukkah begins every year on the 25th of the Hebrew month of "Kislev."

Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days and the "Festival of Lights" was born. Each year, in commemoration of this victory of independence, the rededication of the Temple and the Miracle of the oil, Jews worldwide light the Menorah, a nine-candle candelabrum.

The first candle of the Menorah is lit at sundown on the first day of Hanukkah. One additional candle is lit each night during the celebration. The ninth candle, called the "Shamash," meaning "servant," is often placed higher or to one side to distinguish it from the other candles. The "Shamash" is used to light each of the candles from left to right.