How Hanukkah is a fun time for family and friends

Hanukkah Activities Hanukkah is a fun time for family and friends in the Jewish community Hanukkah is the most popular holiday on the Jewish calendar.

- Claudell Evans

It is celebrated on the 25th day of Kislev, which is the third month of the Jewish calendar and occurs sometime in December of the Gregorian calendar. The Hanukkah holiday lasts eight successive days, during which eight candles are lit, beginning with one on the first night, two on the second night, three on the third night, and so on. The celebration also is known as the Feast of Lights, the Feast of Dedication, and the Feast of the Maccabees. Hanukkah means “dedication” and commemorates the rededication of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C. following a victorious rebellion by the Jews against their oppressors.

History of Hanukkah In 168 B.C., the Syrian ruler Antiochus, who worshipped Grecian deities, seized control of Jerusalem and converted the Temple that was dedicated to the Jews God to become a pagan temple for Zeus. Anåtiochus ordered the Jews to switch their allegiance to the Greek gods and to abandon their traditional faith in pain of death. Some Jews complied to save their lives, but others fought the Greek soldiers, although they were severely outnumbered by well-armed warriors.

In a small village called Modiin, not far from Jerusalem, the soldiers called the Jews together and told them to worship an idol as well as eat swine flesh—both of which are considered a defilement to Jews. The priest Mattathias was asked to lead the unholy ceremony, but he refused. Another Jew offered to do it instead, but Mattathias became enraged and killed the man with his sword and with the help of his five sons, killed the soldiers. The priest and his sons escaped into the nearby wilderness, joined by other Jewish rebels, and they continued to attack the Greeks whenever they could. Eventually, they overcame the Greek soldiers, and led by Judah Maccabee, returned to the Temple to reclaim it for the Lord.