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This Sunday marks the beginning of the 8-day Jewish holiday called Hanukkah. Hanukkah commemorates the day in 165 BC that the Jewish peoples recaptured their holy Temple in Jerusalem from the foreign forces that had taken it. The statues of the foreign gods were removed and the Temple was returned to its original state. A rededication was called for. Hanukkah means “dedication” and this holiday celebrates the rededication of the Temple.

Hanukkah is also known as “The Festival of Lights”. According to the legend of the first Hanukkah, the Jewish people wanted to celebrate the rededication of their Temple. There was only enough oil left to burn for one day of celebration. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days and the people celebrated for the whole eight days. This is the origin of the traditional candle lighting ceremony that is practiced each of the eight nights of Hanukkah and that is referred to as The Festival of Lights.

Hanukkah is a joyful, family holiday. There are parties, games and gifts. There are delicacies like latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) that are fried in oil. These foods are chosen and enjoyed as symbols of the oil that burned for eight days.

If you would like to know more about Hanukkah, select the December 3rd 1999 issue of The Tribune. Or type Hanukkah into the Know-It-All search box and when the results page appears, click on the article of your choice.