Hanukkah (meaning dedication) is a minor Jewish holiday. It celebrates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greek army.
It also celebrates a miracle that happened at that time. After the revolt, the Jews reclaimed the Temple from the Syrian Greeks. They cleansed and rededicated the Temple. But when they tried to light the menorah (a candelabra), they found only a small amount of oil. Miraculously, that little bit of oil lasted for eight days. This is one of the reasons Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days.
Today, one way people celebrate Hanukkah is by lighting the menorah (also known as a hanukiah). Many people place their menorah in the window or join in public celebrations and menorah lightings.
Text adapted from Simple English Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0.
