The eight-day Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

The Jewish Festival of Hanukkah lasts for eight days, the exact dates vary each year but usually fall between, late November through to December. This year the celebrations will start on the evening of November the 28^th and finish at nightfall on December the 6^th. Every day of the festival period a series of religious rituals are carried out throughout families and Synagogues. Hanukkah can be spelt in three different ways, the other two ways are, Chanukah and Hanukkah and can be called the Festival of Lights or, the Feast of Dedication.

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The eight days of the festival are celebrated with family and friends by eating special fried foods, lighting the Menorah candles, reading scripture, sending Hanukkah Cards from a company such as Cazenove Judaica, and repeating Prayers together. The meaning of the word Hanukkah is “Rededication” the festival itself is a reminder to the Jewish people of the victory in the great battle over the Greeks to practise their beliefs freely. The Greek King at the time of the battle was called Antiochus and he had banned all Jewish practises.  The worst moment was when the king tried to force the Jewish people to pray to a Greek statue that had been placed inside a Synagogue!

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A devoted group of Jews called the Maccabees refused to worship the statue and fought for their rights to practise their beliefs, against all the odds they won and were allowed to continue with their religious practises.  Candles were lit inside the Synagogue to celebrate the victory and cleanse the temple; this is where the Jewish tradition of lighting candles began.