Hanukkah
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday, which is on the 25th of Kislev (November - December). The word “Hanukkah” means “dedication” in Hebrew. It is also sometimes referred to as “Chanukah”. It goes on for eight days and nights. In Hanukkah, the kids of the family get gifts on all eight days. The people also play a fun game of Dreidel. Here is the history of Hanukkah: The Syrian - Greeks seized the Jewish temple. The Syrian - Greek emperor told Jews to worship the Greek gods and eat pig flesh (which are both forbidden to Jews). Mattathias, one of the Jews, refused to do so. A different villager offered to do it on Mattathias’s behalf. Mattathias got outraged and killed the villager and the Greek officer with his sword. All the other villagers joined him and killed all the Greek soldiers at the scene. Then, they went into hiding. After they were in control, they went to a temple in Jerusalem. They wanted to purify it by burning ritual oil in the temple's menorah for eight days, but there was only enough oil for one day. They lit it and miraculously, it stayed on for eight days. That is the Hanukkah miracle.
This is a picture of a Dreidel
This is a picture of someone lighting a Menorah
©2013 Akash K. Nayar