Beginning each November or December, Jewish people around the world gather ... to celebrate Hanukkah with friends and family for eight nights and eight days. This joyous holiday is also known as the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C. after a small number of Jewish soldiers led by Judah Maccabee defeated the huge army of King Antiochus IV, who sought to eradicate the Jewish religion. Hanukkah (חנוכה) is a Hebrew word for “dedication.” The unlikely victory was seen as a miracle from God. Jews celebrate by reciting blessings to God and lighting a Hanukkah menorah, or Hanukkiah ... one candle on the first night of the holiday, two on the second, and so on. A “helper” candle, the shamash, is used to light the others. Jewish teachings hold that, despite only having enough sacred oil to light a special lamp for one night during the Temple rededication, the oil miraculously lasted for eight nights. Jews also celebrate by singing songs ... and eating foods made with oil, including jelly-filled doughnuts, or sufganiyot, and potato pancakes, or latkes. And children play a game of chance by spinning a four-sided top called a dreidel ... in an attempt to win a pot of Hanukkah gelt, or gold-foil wrapped chocolate coins. The dreidel’s hebrew letters stand for “a great miracle happened there.” Though modern day Hanukkah, like Christmas, often consists of exchanging gifts ... the festival is meant to celebrate the miracles that occurred over 2,000 years ago, the survival of the Jews, and the power of even a small light to overcome darkness.