What is the Hanukkah holiday tradition?
Hanukkah (or Chanukkah; there are actually lots of ways to spell it since it’s a transliteration from the Hebrew alphabet), is the celebration of an event older than Christianity. Essentially, a group of Jewish patriots fought off the Hellenized Syrians (e.g. ,those who had adopted the Greek traditions) who had defiled the Hebrew Temple and turned it into a stable. The celebration isn’t about the military victory though. The story continues that these patriots cleaned up the Temple and re-dedicated it to their God. Part of their religious tradition was to have an eternal candle, or oil light, burn within the Temple. They found one vial of sanctified oil for this light, but it was only enough to burn for one day. It would take eight days for a runner to get a fresh supply of oil. However, a miracle happened and this one vial of oil lasted for the full eight days until the runner came back with new oil. So, Hanukkah is the “celebration of lights,” commemorating this miracle, and that’s w
