Chanukah is a holiday celebrated by Jewish people all over the world. Lasting for eight nights, Chanukah is a time for gathering with family and friends and exchanging gifts. There are many other ways to celebrate Chanukah, like singing, dancing, playing dreidel, eating a lot of good food, and, of course, lighting the menorah. But what is the real story behind this joyous celebration?
The story of Chanukah focuses on Jews living in Judea, present-day Israel, which came under the rule of the Greek Seleucid Empire around 200 BCE. Although they were granted religious freedom at first, by the year 175 BCE, a new emperor, Antiochus IV, had ascended to the throne and outlawed the Jewish religion.
The Holy Temple at Jerusalem was looted and destroyed. Many Jews were even slaughtered. To add insult to injury, Antiochus commissioned a temple dedicated to the Greek god Zeus to be built upon the ruins of the Holy Temple.
Rather than scaring the Jews into submission, these tactics caused them to revolt. A Jewish priest, named Mattathias, led this rebellion along with his five sons. They called themselves the Maccabees, Hebrew for "hammers." When Mattathias died, his son Judah took over and led the rebellion. In 165 BCE, the group was successful in overthrowing the Seleucid monarchy.
After taking back Jerusalem, Judah and his brothers worked to restore the Holy Temple. Upon searching for olive oil to light the eternal flame at the temple, they found only enough oil to last one day.
Remarkably, the small amount of oil lasted for eight days. To celebrate the success of the rebellion and the miracle of the oil, Judah and his brothers declared that there should be an eight-day festival each year honoring the events.
Did You Know?
By asserting that the events of the Maccabean Revolt be celebrated each year, Judah established the first Jewish holiday to be declared by a person, rather than by God.
Since the Maccabean Revolt, Jews everywhere have continued to celebrate Chanukah each year. By lighting candles on a menorah for eight nights in recognition of the oil at the Holy Temple and by placing electric menorahs in the windows, it is no wonder that Chanukah is also called the Festival of Lights.