Chanukah, which means “dedication” in Hebrew, is celebrated for eight days and nights in December. The holiday commemorates the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Jews’ 165 B.C.E. victory over the Hellenist Syrians.

When Antiochus, the Greek King of Syria, outlawed Jewish rituals and seized the Jewish Temple, it led to an armed revolt led by the high priest Mattathias and his son, Judah Maccabee. Against long odds, and after three long years, the “Maccabees” finally prevailed against the invaders. With the Temple recaptured, celebrating Jews relit the menorah, with only enough oil to burn for one day…yet, that one-day supply miraculously lasted for eight, giving them time to find more oil to keep the eternal flames alight.

In celebration of that miracle, Jews worldwide light a menorah, one candle per night, for eight nights, until all eight are burning. Small gifts are given. And families play with dreidels – four-sided spinning tops that serve as the centerpiece of friendly gambling for candy or coins, with winning and losing hinging on the way the dreidel falls. Similar tops were kept by the ancient Maccabees when studying the Torah, to fool passing Syrian soldiers into thinking their gatherings were for games.