Calendar

Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) is an eight-day Jewish festival marking the miraculous victory of the Maccabees (Jewish freedom fighters) over the Seleucidian Greek occupiers in the year 139 BCE.

On each of the eight nights of the holiday, Jewish people light special menorahs (candelabras), adding another flame each night, until on the eighth night eight flames are burning brightly. The lighting takes place at home, in a doorway or near a window, and is performed after brief blessings are recited.