hanukkah

Hanukkah (, ; חֲנֻכָּה‎ Ḥănukkā ) is a Rabbinic Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple following the Jewish Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE.
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 November 28 to December 27 in the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, commonly called a menorah or hanukkiah. One branch is placed above or below the others and its candle is used to light the other eight candles. This unique candle is called the shammash (שַׁמָּשׁ‎, "attendant"). Each night, one additional candle is lit by the shammash until all eight candles are lit together on the final night of the festival. It is the only Jewish holiday to begin in one month (Kislev) and end in another (Tevet) on the Hebrew calendar.
Other Hanukkah festivities include singing Hanukkah songs, playing the game of dreidel and eating oil-based foods, such as latkes and sufganiyot (similar to jelly donuts), and dairy foods. Since the 1970s, the worldwide Chabad Hasidic movement has initiated public menorah lightings in open public places in many countries.
Originally instituted as a feast "in the manner of Sukkot (Booths)", it does not come with the corresponding obligations, and is therefore a relatively minor holiday in strictly religious terms. Nevertheless, Hanukkah has attained major cultural significance in North America and elsewhere, especially among secular Jews, due to often occurring around the same time as Christmas during the festive season.

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