What is Chanukah?

Chanukah, in Hebrew means “DEDICATION,” and is referred to as the “Feast of Dedication”. However, it is now more colloquially referred to as the "Festival of Lights”. This annual Jewish Holiday which is celebrated on the 22nd of December commemorates the victory of the Jewish Maccabees over the Syrian despots, in 167 B.C. It was a fight for religious freedom that rescued Judaism as a culture from annihilation. Upon returning to Jerusalem, they found the Temple sacked, burned, and desecrated. After restoring the Temple of Zion, they lit the lamps of a great Menorah, and celebrated the beginning of a week-long festival, in 165 B.C.

It is the only Jewish holiday that is connected with a warring event, and is a secular, rather than a religious holiday. It is comparable in many ways to the American Fourth of July celebration commemorating the victory in the Country’s War for Independence. Chanukah denotes a time of joy and among other things good food and gifts are enjoyed while Families gather and enjoy prayer and fellowship.