Chanukah

Chanukah (also spelled Hanukkah or Hanukah; from Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה‎, modern Ḥanuká, Tiberian Ḥanukā, lit. "dedication") is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. The festival is observed by lighting the chanukiah, a nine-branched menorah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to all eight on the final night. The typical menorah consists of eight branches with an additional raised branch called a shamash (Hebrew: שמש‎, "attendant") used to kindle the others. Other Chanukah customs include playing the game of dreidel and eating oil-based foods, such as latkes and sufganiyot, to commemorate the miracle of the oil that lasted eight days. In Hebrew, Chanukah is also known as the Festival of Lights (Hebrew: חג האורים‎, Ḥag HaUrim). The holiday is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. Chanukah has also been variously transliterated as Hanukkah, Hanukah, Hanuka, Hanukkah, Channuka, and Chanuka in English, and as Hanukka in Yiddish.