Chanukah is a wonderful minor holiday in the Jewish calendar. It is probably the most celebrated of all the holidays in Judaism. The story of Chanukah which means “dedication” can be found in the Apocryphal books of I and II Maccabees and the Writings of the Jewish historian Josephus. In the 2nd century BCE, Antiochus Epiphanies, the Seleucid Greek King, took over Judea and desecrated the Holy Temple. His goal was to “Hellenize” the Jews, to assimilate them into the Greek culture and the Greek way of thinking. He put an end to sacrifices, circumcision, and Temple worship. A small band of Jews zealous for Torah stood up against the Greek Army and defeated them. They were led by Judah Maccabee. When they got to the Temple, they had to re-dedicate all the articles that the Greeks had desecrated. The real theme of Chanukah is the victory of Jews over the oppressing Greeks. Most know the tradition of the when trying to light the Temple Menorah, they only found one cruse of oil that was not defiled. The miracle is that this oil which was only enough for one day, burned for 8 days until the new oil was ready. Judah then consecrated the Temple and declared there be a celebration. Thus we have the 8 days Chanukah. Judah Maccabee instituted 8 days after King Solomon’s 8 day consecration of the First Temple taken from the festival of Sukkot. Also known as the festival of lights, modern celebrations vary from huge community gatherings to quiet family get togethers. Each night, we light a candle on the chanukia, the 9 branch menorah, to remember the miracle. Some families give gifts each night so their children won’t feel left out during Christmas. Other traditions are cooking and eating fried or oily foods, like latkes and sufganyot (jelly doughnuts), to symbolize the oil of the menorah, spinning the dreidel, and tzedakah or charity. Chanukah is not a Torah commanded Festival, though there is evidence that Yahoshuah may have celebrated Chanukah. John 10:22 says that Yahoshuah was in the Temple during the Feast of Dedication. The Feast of Dedication is Chanukah. There is something else interesting about Chanukah. It takes place on the 25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev. Sound familiar? In our previous studies, we learned that Yahoshuah could not have been born on December 25th, in fact we proved that this date was used by the early Church to incorporate it’s pagan practices. For a Real History of Christmas click here. We showed that Yahoshuah was born during the Festival of Sukkot. Guess what is 9 months prior to Sukkot? That’s right, Chanukah, The Festival of Lights, the Feast of Dedication. Yahoshuah is the Torah, the Torah is the Light, Yahoshuah is the Light. Conceived on Chanukah. How fitting? For some great articles on Chanukah visit aish.com.