Why Hanukkah is Celebrated

Hanukkah is a minor holiday that commemorates the victory of the Jews against the Syrian-Greeks in the Maccabean War of 165 BCE. The real miracle of Hanukkah is that the Jews were victorious, against all odds, they beat their enemy and were able to restore the Ancient Temple in Jerusalem, which had been desecrated by the Greeks.

Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights or the Feast of Dedication. The eight-day Jewish festival commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. This rededication occurred in the 2nd century B.C., when a group of Jewish people staged a rebellion against their Seleucid rulers.

Hanukkiyah Artist Unknown Hanukkah (sometimes transliterated Chanukkah) is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days and nights. It starts on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev, which coincides with late November-late December on the secular calendar. In Hebrew, the word "hanukkah" means "dedication."

More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who sought to forcefully the people of Israel. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the of .