Hanukkah (“dedication” in Hebrew) is a Jewish festival that celebrates the rededication of the second temple in 164 B.C. The temple had been made unfit for worship on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev (mid-November to mid-December) in 167 B.C., when the Seleucid king, Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), sacrificed ritually unclean animals to his gods on the Jewish altar. The heroic deeds of the priest Mattathias and his five sons, known as “the Maccabees,” ultimately defeated these Greek-speaking Syrian oppressors of the Jewish community. During the rebellion, the Jewish people rebuilt the sanctuary, purified the temple, and constructed a new altar. They dedicated the altar to God in an eight-day worship service beginning on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev in 164 B.C., exactly three years after it had been defiled (1 Macc 4:51-59; 2 Macc 10:1-8).

The lighting of candles on a special, eight-branched candlestick called a “menorah” is the most familiar aspect of Hanukkah, also known as the “Festival of Lights.” According to Jewish legend, a small jar of oil discovered at the cleansing of the temple miraculously kept the temple light burning for eight days until additional oil was found. Today, on each night of the festival, an additional candle is lit, one candle for the first night, two candles for the second night, and so on. The menorah is then placed in a window for all to see. Families celebrate by singing songs, exchanging gifts, and playing children’s games, especially dreidl (played with a spinning top). Hanukkah also is known as the Temple Festival (John 10:22) or Festival of Dedication.