Hanukkah. The Festival of Lights. It's one of the most important of the Jewish holidays. The holiday goes back almost 2,400 years, and celebrates one of the greatest miracles in Jewish history. It takes place every year in mid to late December. While its date varies if you go by the western calendar, in the Hebrew calendar Hanukkah always falls on the 25th day of Kislev. The History of Hanukkah Almost two and a half millennia ago, Judea was ruled by Antiochus, a Syrian king. He attempted to assimilate the Jews into Greek culture, commanding them to worship Greek gods while oppressing Jewish culture and religion. Many Jews refused to do so. Led by Judah Maccabee and his brothers, the Jewish people, after a three-year struggle, overthrew their Syrian oppressors. When Jerusalem's Temple was reclaimed, the Hebrews found it defiled by statues of the Greek gods and other religious artifacts. They cleared out the foreign icons and rededicated the temple on the 25th day of Kislev. As part of their campaign of oppression, the Greeks had systematically defiled any Jewish religious item they could find. So when the time came to light the N'er Tamid, the Eternal Light of the Temple, the Jews could find only one sanctified jar of oil—marked with the seal of the High Priest. It was enough to last one evening. The lamp was lit with this small jar of oil and, miraculously, stayed lit for eight days, until more oil suitable for the temple was found. That's why there's 8 days of Hanukkah.

Hanukkah is the feast of dedication celebrating the Maccabean victory in 167 B.C. It's celebrated for eight days to commemorate the rededication of the Temple following the Jews' victory over occupying forces in 165 B.C.E., which re-established for a time their religious and political freedom. (Judaism)

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