Festival of Lights

Yesterday, December 2, was tha Jewish Festival of Lights: Hannkkah or Chanukah. There is a small Jewsih Community in Calcutta, Bombay, and Mizoaram who celebrate this festival.

History Of Jewish Hanukkah Holiday

The history of Hanukah can be traced back to 165 BC,  the rededication of the holy temple of Jerusalem by the Jews, after their victory over the Hellenist Syrians in 165 BC. The Greek god- king of Syria, Antiochus, ordered the Jews to worship the Greek gods and stopped the  Jews from practicing their faith. Even their holy temple was seized in 168 BC and was dedicated to Zeus. Not much  later, the angry Jews decided to fight back and restore the dignity of their holy temple. The fighting began in a village close to Jerusalem, known as Modiin.

The seeds for Jewish revolt were planted when Jews asked by a Greek officer to bow to an idol and eat pork which is forbidden by the Jewish religion. This enraged one of the Jews who killed the officer and went into hiding with his family. There, he was joined by more Jews, who were willing to fight against the Greeks. This group of Jewish warriors ambushed the Greeks whenever they sensed opportunity. Soon, Judah Maccabee, the third son of Jewish priest Mattathias and the leader of the Jewish revolt; went to the holy temple with his soldiers.

In the temple, Judah found many things broken or missing. The temple was cleaned and repaired by Maccabee and his soldiers and then, a big dedication ceremony was held there. The Maccabees also wanted to light the golden menorah in the temple, but they could only find a small flask containing oil, which was enough to light the menorah for a day. However, the oil lasted in the menorah for eight days, quite miraculously. This led to the tradition of lighting menorah on Hanukkah, for eight days.

Candle Lighting Blessings


Hanukkah is the Jewish festival of lights, which is celebrated for eight days, by lighting a special candelabrum called menorah. The festival commemorates the victory of Maccabees, over the Hellenistic Syrians. As per the Jewish tradition, the number of candles to be lit depends on the day of the festival, proceeding to eight lights on the last i.e. eighth night. People also light an extra light throughout the festival, called the shamash.
The eight days recall the eight day miracle of the original temple lamp.