Hanukkah (/ˈhɑːnəkə/ hah-nə-kə; Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה khanuká, Tiberian: khanuká,
usually spelled חנוכה, pronounced [χanuˈka] in Modern
Hebrew, [ˈχanukə] or [ˈχanikə]in Yiddish;
a transliteration also romanized as Chanukah or Ḥanukah),
also known as the Festival of
Lights and Feast of Dedication, is an
eight-day Jewish
holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second
Temple) in Jerusalem at
the time of the Maccabean
Revolt against
the Seleucid
Empire of
the 2nd century BC.
Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according
to the Hebrew
calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late
December in the Gregorian calendar.
The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of
a unique candelabrum,
the nine-branched menorah or hanukiah, one additional light on each
night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical
menorah consists of eight branches with an additional visually distinct branch.
The extra light, with which the others are lit, is called a shamash (Hebrew: שמש,
"attendant")[1] and
is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest.
Other Hanukkah festivities include playing dreidel and
eating oil based foods such as doughnuts and latkes.
Hanukkah became more widely celebrated beginning from the
1970s, when Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson called
for public awareness and observance of the festival and encouraged the lighting
of public
menorahs.[2][3][4][5] Diane
Ashton attributed the popularization of Hanukkah by some of the American Jewish
community as a way to adapt to American life, because they could celebrate
Hannukkah which occurs at around the same time as Christmas.[6]
The name "Hanukkah" derives
from the Hebrew verb "חנך", meaning "to dedicate". On Hanukkah, the
Maccabean Jews regained control of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple.[7][8] Many
·
The name can be broken down into חנו כ"ה, "[they]
rested [on the] twenty-fifth", referring to the fact that the Jews ceased
fighting on the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday
begins.[10]
·
חנוכה (Hanukkah) is
also the Hebrew acronym for ח נרות והלכה כבית הלל — "Eight
candles, and the halakha is like the
House of Hillel". This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical
schools of thought — the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai — on the proper order in which
to light the Hanukkah flames. Shammai opined that eight candles should be lit
on the first night, seven on the second night, and so on down to one on the
last night (because the miracle was greatest on the first day). Hillel argued
in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every
night, up to eight on the eighth night (because the miracle grew in greatness
each day). Jewish law adopted the
position of Hillel.[11]
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