(Jewish Group) Eight candles and a helper: Hanukkah

[Behind the Aegis]

Starting on December 18, Jews will celebrate the eight-day festival of Hanukkah, commemorating the rededication of Jerusalem's Second Temple in 200 BC. Hanukkah is sometimes referred to as the Jewish Christmas, but the festival has nothing to do with Jesus' birth.

Instead it commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem around 200 B.C, where the legend goes that the Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt. In fact, the word Hanukkah means "rededication."

Under Greek rule, the Jews were not allowed to practice their religion for two centuries, until they reconquered Jerusalem in 164 BC. After cleansing the Second Temple and rebuilding its altar, they found a jar of oil that was enough only to keep the candles of a menorah (an eight-branched candelabrum) burning for a day. However, they burned for eight days.

That is why Hanukkah is celebrated over eight days, with a candle being lit each day after dark.



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