Hanukkah

First Candle: December 11 / Observed December 12-18

The Festival of Lights, or Festival of Rededication, is an eight-day holiday observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each of the festival's eight nights. The word Hanukkah means "dedication" because it marks the rededication of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the Syrian Greeks. Spiritually, Hanukkah commemorates a miracle of oil used to rekindle the candelabra in the Temple.