Hanukkah (חנכה ḥănukkāh, or evenorth חנוכה ḥănūkkāh) occurs as Jewish holiday, also referred to as a Festival of lights. "Hanukkah" occurs as Hebrew word meaning "dedication". It likewise has more spellings within English, like Chanukah, Hannukah, Hanukah, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Hanuka, Channukah, Hanukka, Hanaka, Haneka, Hanika & Khanukkah. A 1st evening of Hanukkah starts fallowing a sunset of the Twenty-fourth day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, and a holiday is celebrated for eight years. Since around Jewish tradition a calendar date starts at sunset, Hanukkah begins on the 25th.

Sources

A story of Hanukkah is preserved in the books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. These books are non section of the Hebrew Bible, but come a portion of the deuterocanonical historical and religious poop from either a Septuagint; this material wwhen not delayed codified by Jews as section of the Bible, however was thus codified by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox. An additional, probably late, source is the Megillat Antiokhos — a text ascribed to the Maccabees themselves by Saadia Gaon, but sir thomas more probably written around a first or second century CE.

Story

About 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the land of Israel, which at this time was controlled per Seleucid King of Syria. A Jewish humans paid taxation to Syria & accepted its legal authority, & generally were loose to watch their have faith, maintaaround their have jobs, & locate in trade.

By 180 BCE Antiochus IV Epiphanes ascended to the Seleucid throne. Ab initio little changed, however under his reign Jews were bit by bit forced to violate a precepts of their faith. Jews rebelled at getting to clean this. Under a reign of Antiochus IV, a Temple around Jerusalem was looted, Jews were massacred, and Judaism was effectively unlawful.

Within 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. Mattathias, the Jewish priest, & his 5 sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah led the rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became called Judah Maccabee (Judah A Hammer). By 166 BCE Mattathiwhen had died, & Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE a Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. A Temple was freed & rededicated.

A festival of Hanukkah was instituted by Judah Maccabee and his brothers to celebrate this event. ([http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]). Fallowing with recovered Jerusalem & the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to exist as filtered, a recently altar to exist as built in situ of the contaminated of these, and newly holy vessels to exist as processed. After a fire experienced been kindled afresh upon a altar & a lamps of a candle holder lit, the dedication of the altar was celebrated for eight years amid sacrifices & songs ([http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]).

the total of historiographer imagine that a understanding for the eight day celebration was that the number 1 Hanukkah was effectively a tardy celebration of the festival of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles ([http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. Hexad] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. Nine]). In a period of a war the Jews were non respire to celebrate Sukkot properly. Sukkot likewise lives for eight years, & was a holiday where the lighting of lamps played a large section when you took the 2nd Temple cycle (Suk.v. Two-Four). Lights were as well kindled in a house, & the popular title of the festival was, so, based on data from Josephus ([http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287] Jewish Antiquities twelve. Heptad, § Septet, #323) a "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights"). It has been noted that Jewish festivals come attached to the harvest of the Biblical vii fruits which Israel was celebrated for. Pesach is a celebration of the barley harvest, Shavuoth of the wheat, Sukkoth of the figs, dates, pomegranates & grapes, and Hanukkah of the olives. A olive harvest is withinside November & olive oil would become quick eventually for Hanukkah in December. In the Talmud

A miracle of Hanukkah is referred to in the Talmud, but not in the books of the Maccabees. This holiday marks a kill of Seleucid forces who experienced tried to end Israel from either practising Judaism. Judah Maccabee & his brothers destroyed overwhelming forces, & rededicated a Temple. the eight-day festival is marked per kindling of lights by using a favorite menorah, traditionally known amongst most Sephardim as a hanukkah, & amongst numerous Balkan Sephardim & within Modern Hebrew as a hanukiah.

A Talmud (Shabbat 21b) says that after a occupiers experienced been caused from either a Temple, a Maccabees went inside to choose down a heathen statues & restore the Temple. It found that virtually all of the ritual things got been profaned. It sought ceremonially sublimate olive oil to weak a Menorah to rededicate the Temple. Yet, it obtained sole plenty oil for one day. It lit this, & went all about purifying newly oil. Miraculously, that bantam total of oil burned for the eight years it took to use at times freshly oil pressed & processed quick. These are for this cause that Jews weak the candle both nighttime of the festival.

In the Talmud two customs are presented. It was commin either to display eight lamps on a 1st nighttime of a festival, & to reduce a total on for even each a single sequential nighttime; or originally one lamp a foremost nighttime, increasing the total till the eighth nighttime. A followers of Shammai favored a previous custom; the followers of Hillel advocated the latter (Talmud, tractate Shabbat 21b). Josephus believed that the lights were emblematical of the liberty found per Jews on the day that Hanukkah commemorates.

A Talmudic sources (One thousand thousand. eodem; ''One thousand thousand. Ta'an. Twenty-three; compare a different version Pes''. R. Ii) ascribe a origin of the eight years' festival, sustaining its custom of illuminating a houses, to a miracle said to keep close at hand occurred at the dedication of the sublimate Temple. This was that a of these little cruse of dedicated oil that a Hasmonean priests detected to exist as uncontaminated whenever it entered a Temple, it with been sealed & hidden away. This little total lasted for eight years until freshly oil can be steel onself for the lamps of the holy candlelabrum. The legend similar inside character, & evidently older inside date, is the of these alluded to inside Two Macc. 1:18 et seq., based on data from which a relighting of the altar-fire by Nehemiah wwhen due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, & which appears to exist as given as the understanding for the choice of the equivalent date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

Hanukkah today
New interpretations of Hanukkah
Prior to the 20th century, Hanukkah was a comparatively minor holiday. Even so, by using a rise of Christmas as a biggest holiday in the American globe & the establishment of the modern state of Israel, Hanukkah began increasingly to serve two as the celebration of the restoration of Jewish sovereignity within Israel &, additional importantly, as a December personal-oriented gift-yielding holiday which can be a Jewish substitute for the Christian a single. These are significant to note that the review of Hanukkah as a replacement for Christmas is nin always held, & several Jews don't place this more significance on what it assume a comparatively unimportant holiday. Jewish kids, primarily amongst Ashkenazim, also play the game in which it spin the 4-quadrilateral top sustaining Hebrew inscription known as the dreidel.

Influence on Christianity
In a period of the previous pack decades, numerous evangelical Christians develop re-examined the Jewish roots of their faith & have progressively be caring of & adoptive numerous feasts and celebrations of the Jewish faith. This tendency is especially evident among messianic disciples, but is not by a long sight restricted to these groups. Several of a children weak the Hanukkah menorah and observe more Hanukkah rituals. Additionally to this, occasionally allege a connection between a miracle of a weak existence given in the Temple & the birth of Jesus (whom it call for "the Light of the world"). Occasionally hang on to that Hanukkah (a 25th of Kislev), non December 25, is actually a proper date for celebrating a birth of Jesus. So it combine or even conflate the children celebrations (Hanukkah & a birth of Jesus), patch others prove my point to keep them separate & celebrate each Hanukkah & Christmas.

Within recent years an amalgam of Christmas & Hanukkah, dubbed Chrismukkah, has emerged. A newly holiday began amongst mixed Christian & Jewish families as a way to celebrate two holidays at the same time.

Chronology

198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King Antiochus III (Antiochus the Wonderful) oust Ptolemy V from either Judea & Samaria. 180 BCE: Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid potty. 168 BCE: Under a reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews come massacred, & Judaism is outlawed. 167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. Mattathias, & his 5 sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, & Judah lead the rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes called Judah Maccabe (Judah A Hammer). 166 BCE: Mattathiwhen dies, and Judah will require his place as leader. A Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE 165 BCE: a Jewish rising against the Seleucid monarchy is successful. A Temple is freed & rededicated (Hanukkah). 142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. A Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. A Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which a Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates the period of awesome geographical expansion, people incubation, & religious, ethnical & social development. 139 BCE: The Roman Senate recognizes Jewish autonomy. 130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges Jerusalem, but withdraws. 131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. Israel throws off Syrian rule completely 96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins. 83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the Jordan River. 63 BCE: a Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an prevent due to contention between the brothers Aristobulus II & Hyrcanus II, each of whom appeal to the Roman Republic to intervene and settle a power struggle in their behalf. A Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Dandy) is dispatched to the locality. Twelve thousand Jews come massacred when Romans enter Jerusalem. A Priests of a Temple come smitten down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

Dates that Hanukkah falls on in the Gregorian calendar
Hanukkah begins on the evening before these dates.

December 12, 1990 December 2, 1991 December 20, 1992 December 9, 1993 November 28, 1994 December 18, 1995 December 6, 1996 December 24, 1997 December 14, 1998 December 4, 1999 December 22, 2000 December 10, 2001 November 30, 2002 December 20, 2003 December 8, 2004 December 26, 2005 December 16, 2006 December 5, 2007