By K.P. Sander

   Hanukkah – or the Festival of Lights – is an eight day Jewish celebration that is signified by the successive kindling of eight lights.

Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in 165 B.C., after its desecration.  According to Bible references, Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, erected an altar to the Greek god, Zeus, on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, offering up swine upon it.  This act intensified the Jewish resistance, which led to revolt.  Once they reclaimed Jerusalem, the Temple was cleansed and rededicated.

Hanukkah is observed beginning on the 25^th day of Kislev – an autumn month on the Hebrew calendar – which occurs annually any time from late November to late December.

Many traditions surround Hanukkah.  The most widely recognized is the lighting of a menorah, typically consisting of a candelabrum with eight individual branches, and a Shamash – or extra light above or below the branches used for practical lighting.  According to Wikipedia, using the actual Hanukkah lights for purposes other than publicizing and meditating on the Festival is forbidden.

Other Hanukkah traditions include playing a top game called Dreidel, and eating oil-based or fried foods (such as donuts and latkes) as a symbol of the ancient miracle which centered around oil, with one flame lasting eight days.

This year, Hanukkah will begin at sunset on Dec. 16, and continue to nightfall on Dec. 24.