Hanukkah is
celebrated for eight days and nights, starting on the 25th
of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar (which is November-December
on the Gregorian calendar). In Hebrew, the word "Hanukkah"
means "dedication."
The holiday
commemorates the rededication of the holy Temple in
Jerusalem after the Jews' 165 B.C.E. victory over the
Hellenist Syrians. Antiochus, the Greek King of Syria,
outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered the Jews to worship
Greek gods. In 168 B.C.E. the Jews' holy Temple was seized
and dedicated to the worship of Zeus. Some Jews were afraid
of the Greek soldiers and obeyed them, but most were angry
and decided to fight back.
The
fighting began in Modiin, a village not far from Jerusalem.
A Greek officer and soldiers assembled the villagers, asking
them to bow to an idol and eat the flesh of a pig,
activities forbidden to Jews. The officer asked Mattathias,
a Jewish High Priest, to take part in the ceremony. He
refused, and another villager stepped forward and offered to
do it instead. Mattathias became outraged, took out his
sword and killed the man, then killed the officer. His five
sons and the other villagers then attacked and killed the
soldiers. Mattathias' family went into hiding in the nearby
mountains, where many other Jews who wanted to fight the
Greeks joined them. They attacked the Greek soldiers
whenever possible.
About a
year after the rebellion started, Mattathias died. Before
his death, he put his brave son Judah Maccabee in charge of
the growing army. After three years of fighting, the Jews
defeated the Greek army, despite having fewer men and
weapons.
Judah Maccabee and his
soldiers went to the holy Temple, and were saddened that
many things were missing or broken, including the golden
menorah. They cleaned and repaired the Temple, and when they
were finished, they decided to have a big dedication
ceremony. For the celebration, the Maccabees wanted to light
the menorah. They looked everywhere for oil, and found a
small flask that contained only enough oil to light the
menorah for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight
days. This gave them enough time to obtain new oil to keep
the menorah lit. Today Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight
days by lighting candles in a menorah every night, thus
commemorating the eight-day miracle
