Hanukkah is one of the most celebrated Jewish holidays in the world, but have you ever stopped and wondered how Hanukkah came to be? 

Hanukkah is one of many Jewish holidays not mentioned in the Bible. Instead, the story of Hanukkah can be found in books 1 and 2 of Maccabees. It is a story of a small group of Jewish fighters who liberated the land of Israel from the Syrian Greeks. The Syrian Greeks sought to impose their Hellenistic culture on the Jews living there. Eventually Jewish practices were banned causing the Jews to revolt.   Due to the Maccabean revolt, Jews were unable to celebrate Sukkot, a Jewish harvest festival in the fall months. Instead, they redirected it to the month of Kislev (Jewish month usually coinciding with November and December). This became the time frame for Hanukkah. Flavious Josephus, a Jewish historian, was the first to write his accounts of Hanukkah, but he refers to it as the Festival of Lights.  

Hanukkah (“dedication”) is an eight-day festival when Jews celebrate by lighting the menorah, playing a game called dreidel and eating traditional foods. It has become a very popular Jewish holiday because it represents liberation from oppression, religious freedom and divine miracles. Hanukkah today has become a Jewish holiday rich with historical significance and a dialogue of Jewish history.  

Himeles, S. (2022, October 30). How to celebrate Hanukkah. Unpacked. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://jewishunpacked.com/how-to-celebrate-hanukkah/#:~:text=Jews%20celebrate%20it%20by%20lighting,Jewish%20holidays%20of%20the%20year.