Hanukkah

Hanukkah, observed on December 14, is a Jewish festival celebrating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean revolt. It commemorates the enduring power of faith, courage, and religious freedom, as well as the tradition that a small amount of oil miraculously kept the Temple’s lamp burning.

Families and communities mark Hanukkah by lighting a hanukkiah, adding a light each evening, and sharing blessings, songs, and stories. Festive customs may include playing dreidel, enjoying foods cooked in oil such as latkes and sufganiyot, and exchanging gifts. At its heart, Hanukkah is a warm celebration of hope, resilience, and light.

Hanukkah, also called the Festival of Lights, commemorates the successful Jewish revolt led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV in the second century BCE. According to historical accounts and later Jewish tradition, Antiochus sought to suppress Jewish religious practices and profaned the Temple in Jerusalem. After reclaiming the Temple, the Maccabees rededicated it to Jewish worship—an event reflected in the Hebrew meaning of *Hanukkah*, “dedication.” In the observance described here, Hanukkah is observed on December 14.

A central tradition connected with Hanukkah tells of a small quantity of ritually pure oil that was expected to last only one day but burned for eight days, allowing time to prepare more oil. This story is recorded in the Talmud, compiled centuries after the Maccabean revolt, and helped shape the holiday’s most recognizable practice: lighting a hanukkiah, a nine-branched lamp. One candle is lit on each night, while the additional *shamash*, or “servant” candle, is used to light the others.

Over time, Hanukkah developed from a historical celebration of military victory and Temple rededication into a widely observed religious and family holiday. Jewish communities mark it by reciting special prayers, singing songs, eating foods fried in oil—such as latkes and sufganiyot—and playing the dreidel game. The holiday’s public candle-lighting ceremonies also emphasize Jewish identity and religious continuity, particularly in communities where maintaining Jewish practices has historically faced pressure.

Culturally, Hanukkah highlights themes of perseverance, religious freedom, communal memory, and the preservation of tradition. Although it is not one of Judaism’s biblical pilgrimage festivals, its importance has grown in many communities, especially where it coincides with the broader winter holiday season. The lighting of the hanukkiah on December 14 therefore serves both as a remembrance of the Temple’s rededication and as a contemporary expression of hope, faith, and cultural resilience.