BDI-International Magazine - Issue-6 | November\December 2020

Hanukkah
The Festival of Lights
BDI Marketing | Entertainment, Money & Culture
Hanukkah, the
Festival of Lights,
is a Jewish festival
that commemorates the
rededication of the Temple in
Jerusalem after it was defiled
by the Syrian Greeks in the
2nd century BCE. Hanukkah
can occur from late
November to late December,
when the days are shortest
and the nights are darkest. It
is observed for eight nights
and days by lighting the
candles of a menorah.
In 168 BCE, King Antiochus IV had
control over Israel and turned the Temple
in Jerusalem into a pagan shrine. The
Jewish people began to revolt three years
later, led by Judah the Maccabee, and were
eventually able to recapture the Temple.
Later, a rabbinic tradition held that when
the Maccabees were rededicating the
Temple, they
found only a
small vessel of pure oil
with which to light the golden
menorah. That amount of oil should
only have lasted for one day, but it burned
for eight days instead, which is why
Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days.
The Hanukkah celebration includes
rituals that take place every day for eight
days, with some families exchanging
presents like books and playing games like
spinning the dreidel. Many families
encourage their children to perform acts
of charity instead of receiving presents
for themselves. Some traditional oil-based
foods, like latkes (potato pancakes), jelly
doughnuts, and Sephardic bimuelos, are
shared as a reminder of the importance
of oil.
Lighting the menorah, an eight-branched
candelabrum, is a big part of celebrating
the holiday. On the first night, a unique
candle called the shamash is used to light
the other eight candles, an additional one
each night, until all eight are lit together.
Hanukkah lights are not intended to light
the home, but to illuminate towards the
outside for passersby. That is why they are
set up at a window or near the door leading
to the street.
“The light of hope must outlast the fires of
hate. That’s what the Hanukkah story
teaches us. It’s what our young people can
teach us – that one act of faith can make a
miracle, that love is stronger than hate,
that peace can triumph over conflict.”
-Barack Obama
Hanukkah Sameach!
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