What event does Chanukah memorialize?
Chanukah, the 8 day celebration also known as the festival of lights, is the Jewish re dedication festival beginning the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. It really started with the reign of Alexander the Great. he conquered a bunch of lands, but let the people of the lands he conquered to practice their own religions with a relative degree of autonomy. A century later, Antiochus IV was in control. he began to heavily persecute the Jewish people. At the time of the rededication, there was very little oil left in the Temple that the Greeks had not spoiled. Oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night, every night. There was only enough oil for one day, but miraculously, it lasted for eight days, long enough for fresh oil to be prepared. An 8-day festival was declared. Note that Chanukah memorializes the miracle of the oil, not the military victory.
