Hanukkah: Shelo yichbe neiro l'olam v'ed
(The light will burn forever)

Hanukkah or Chanukah is the Jewish festival of lights, which lasts for eight days. It begins on the Hebrew date of the 25th of Kislev and runs through to the 2nd of Tevet. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by foreign forces.

The most important message of Hanukkah may be found in the name of the holiday itself: Dedication. The celebration reaffirms the continuing struggle on part of the community to live by God's commandments and to lead Jewish lives.

The most important Hanukkah ritual is the lighting of candles. Celebrants light one candle each day in a special candleholder called a menorah or a hanukkiah until all nine are lit. Food fried in oil, games of dreidel (a spinning top), and golden colored coins or gelts given as gifts to children, are some highlights of this eight-day long festivity.

This year, Hanukkah begins at sunset, December 9, and runs on to December 16.