What is Hanukkah?

What happened

In the second century BCE the Seleucid king Antiochus IV outlawed Shabbat, circumcision and Torah study and set up an idol in the Temple. Mattathias the priest and his sons, led by Judah the Maccabee, rose up; against all odds they freed Jerusalem and purified the Temple. The Talmud relates that only one jar of pure oil was found, sealed by the High Priest, enough for one day, and it burned for eight. Maimonides describes the days as days of “joy and praise”.

How it is kept

Each evening the menorah (chanukiyah) is lit at a window or door facing the street, to publicise the miracle: one light on the first night, eight on the last, plus a helper candle, the shamash. Hallel is said in the morning prayers and Al HaNissim is added to the Amidah and to grace after meals. Hanukkah is not a day of rest – work and school continue.

Customs

Foods fried in oil – latkes (potato pancakes) for Ashkenazim, sufganiyot (doughnuts) in Israel, and bimuelos or sfenj in Sephardi and North African homes – recall the miracle of the oil. Children play with a dreidel and receive Hanukkah gelt, coins or money. Women traditionally refrain from work while the candles burn.

Not a “Jewish Christmas”

Hanukkah is a minor festival in Jewish law, not connected to Christmas; gift-giving became prominent in Western countries in modern times. See our Hanukkah guide for this year’s dates.