Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrated once a year from December 2 to December 10. Hanukkah means “dedication” in Hebrew. It’s named this because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple. On the first day, one candle is lit on the menorah, and two on the second night, and so on until by the last day, every candle is lit. It is then placed in front of a window or doorway. Hanukkah also has certain foods that are supposed to be eaten; most foods eaten on Hanukkah are fried in oil, since the Hanukkah miracle involved oil. There are also activities for Hanukkah, such as the famous spinning dreidel game. It is a fun, light-hearted gambling game played for goods.

While many people may already know some of this, the history of how Hanukkah came to be is not very well-known. It all began when in second century BCE, Syrian-Greeks (Seleucids) ruled the Holy Land. They tried to force Israel to practice Greek culture and beliefs instead of their own. However, two people named Judah and Maccabee led a small band of Jewish people to fight back. They somehow defeated them, and drove them out as they reclaimed Jerusalem. When they went to light the Temple’s Menorah, they only found one cruse of olive oil that was not contaminated by the Greeks. They lit it anyone, and somehow it lasted not only for the expected one day period, but for eight days until new oil could be prepared. Because of this, Jewish people to this day annually celebrated Hanukkah.

Hanukkah is a very special holiday for many families.

According to senior Helayna Ballas, traditions vary greatly from family to family.

“In my family, my cousin and I always make the latkes (potato pancake), and we go to  my aunt’s house either on the first or last day of Hanukkah. My uncle will always lead the pry for the lighting of the menorah; then, we eat and open the presents,” she said. “After that, we sing a rap about Hanukkah.”

However, no matter how different the traditions differ, one thing remains consistent: Hanukkah is many people’s favorite holiday, because of how everyone comes together.

Source used: https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102911/jewish/What-Is-Hanukkah.htm