Chanukah Begins in Jewish Communities Around the World

Jewish communities around the world began observing the festival of Chanukah (or Hanukkah) on Sunday evening, lighting a candelabra called the Menorah (or Chanukiyah) for the first of what will be eight nights.

The holiday commemorates a successful Jewish revolt in the second century B.C. against occupying Greek forces who Hellenized the population and desecrated Jewish religious worship in the Temple in Jerusalem.

The rebellion, led by Judah Maccabee and other sons of Mattathias, is documented in the First and Second Book of Maccabees — which, ironically, is not part of the Jewish canon, though the holiday is documented by other means. The Talmud, in particular, downplayed the military and nationalistic significance of the revolt — understandably so, in light of the fact that much of it was written under Roman occupation and repression.

Instead, the Jewish Sages emphasized the miracle that occurred when the Maccabees cleaned out the Temple. They found only enough oil to light the holy candelabrum for one night, but it lasted a full eight nights instead.

In addition to lighting the Menorah in ascending order — one light on the first night (including a shamash light that is used to light the rest), and eight on the final night — there are many other familiar Chanukah traditions.

These including eating sweet foods cooked in oil, such as jelly-filled donuts (sufganiyot) or potato pancakes (latkes); giving gifts such as chocolate coins; and playing games, such as dreidel, which involves a spinning top.

Chanukah is always in the winter, but moves around relative to the secular calendar because Jewish months follow a lunar pattern. This year, Chanukah coincides with Christmas; the eighth night is on December 25.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.