This was a time of persecution and religious suppression for the jewish people. There were some who did as they were told, but most of the Jews refused to convert their religion and become Greeks. 

One who refused to convert was Matityahoo, an old man from the village of Modi'in located in Judea mountains. He had five sons, and Judah the Maccabee was one of them. Judah and his four brothers formed an army and chose as their name the word "Maccabee", which means hammer. After three years of fighting, the Maccabees were finally successful. In the year 164 BC they drove the Syrians out of Israel and reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

The Maccabees wanted to clean the Temple and  remove the hated Greek symbols and statues. On the 25th day of the month of Kislev, the job was finished and the Temple was rededicated. When Judah and his people finished the cleaning, they wanted to light the eternal light. Once lit, the oil lamp should never be extinguished. Only a tiny jug of oil was found with only enough oil to lit for a single day. The oil lamp was filled and lit. Then a miracle occurred as the tiny amount of oil stayed lit not for one day, but for eight days!!! That was the miracle of Hanukah.

The Jewish people celebrate Hanukah to mark the victory over the Syrians and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. The Holiday of Lights, Hanukah, lasts for eight days to commemorate the miracle of the oil. The word Chanukah means "rededication". The jewish dates for this holiday are 24 of month Kislev till 3 of month Tevet. This year it's from Dec. 22 to Dec. 29, 2000.
 

The way to perform the commandment of lightening Hanukah menorah for 8 days is to light it with pure olive oil and cotton wicks, since their light is pure and it causes us to remember the light of the Menorah which was lit with olive oil. One may also use candles made of wax. The menorah itself should be pretty and can be made of metal or glass. The eight candles of the menorah must be in a straight line with the Main candle, the "shamash" a little bit above them. Any menorah which is fancily shaped in a circle or square... is not permitted to be used since the candles must be in a straight line and none may be higher or lower than the others. There must also be enough space between one candle and another so that the flames of each are not intermingled. On the first night of Hanukah, one light is lit and on the next night another light is added and so on, until the eighth night when all the lights are lit.  This procedure of additional light recalls the greatness and growth of the miracle. The light tells the old story of victory and miracles, and it symbols the growing light of Israel.   The eight days of Hanukah are days of games for the children of Israel. The most popular game is the Dreidle game. The four Hebrew letters which appear on the  four corners of a dreidel remind us of the miracle of Hanukah: Noon =Nes(miracle) Gimel =Gadol (big) He' =Haya(happened) Shin =Sham(there = Israel) Yea, the miracle of the oil, that lasted for eight days... Dreidles  had been made of wood or copper in the past, and today they're made of plastic also. Since a dreidle has  a pointed "leg", the player can turn it around itself till the movement stops. There is much more to tell about Hanukah. Those of you who want to know more can find, with a simple search, many sites on the net which give a lot of information about this holiday. I've already added few of them here for you *s*... Hanukah: By My Spirit, says the Breath of Life Jewish Holiday Cooking: Hanukkah HANUKAH - THE FEAST OF REDEDICATING THE TEMPLE HANUKAH: Origins Hanukah Clipart Happy Hanukah Hanukah Hanukah

"Days of Hanukah"

Cliparts from:
l Judaic Graphics l Uncle Debi's graphics for Jewish Holidays l
l Kids Domain l Highland Graphics - Jewish Clipart l

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