History of Hanukkah
 
The history of Hanukkah goes back, way back, to when it all started in the year 165 BCE. Hanukkah, the "dedication" and "The Festival of Lights", is a Jewish festival which begins on the Hebrew date of the 25th of Kislev and lasts eight days, through the 2nd of Tevet. Hanukkah commemorates the victory of the Maccabees (led by Judah) over the Hellenistic Syrians in a revolt that took place around 165 BCE. The most important Hanukkah ritual is the candle lighting. A candle is lit in a special candleholder called a Menorah. Each night, one more candle is added. The middle candle, called the "Shamash", is used to light each of the other candles and it is lit every night. On the first night of Hanukkah, two candles are lit (the Shamash and the candle for the first night) and on the last night, there are nine lit candles.

Hanukkah celebrates the miracle that occurred when the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple. The sanctuary was a shambles, torn apart by the Hellenic forces. The fighters found only enough oil to light a lantern -- by which to read the Torah -- for one day. But the lantern blazed for eight full days. When Jews light the eight candles of the menorah on the eight nights of Hanukkah, they recite a prayer extolling God who "performed miracles for our ancestors in days of old."

During the following years of the Hasmonean dynasty, the first Jewish coins in history were issued. Most depicted cornucopia, symbolic of the prosperity of the country during these years. One of the coins minted by the last of the Hasmonean kings, Antigonus Matityahu (40-37 B.C.E.), portrayed the seven-branched menorah on one side and the Table of Shew Bread on the other, both symbols of the restored Temple. These designs may actually have been intended to remind the people of Hanukkah, which had been neglected during the waning years of the Hasmonean dynasty.

The traditional gift of Hanukkah is known as Hanukkah gelt. It is an old and cherished custom, the roots of gelt–giving go back much further than the Middle Ages, the era in which the custom is usually said to have originated. The importance of coins in the history of the Hasmonean period is undeniable. It is always a wonderful tradition to put some of what you receive into a tzedakah box in order to share your good fortune with those in need or for a good cause.Another Tradition of Hanukkah is the Dreidel Game. Dreidel is a derivative of a German word meaning “top” and the game is an adaptation of an old gambling game. Hanukkah was one of the few times of the year when rabbis permitted games of chance. The Dreidel is great Hanukkah entertainment. The winner would often receive money (Hanukkah gelt). Over time, the gambling terms were reinterpreted to stand for the Hebrew phrase Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, “A great miracle happened there.” Even an ordinary game of chance was invested with Jewish values and served to remind Jews of the important message of Hanukkah. Today, Jewish children throughout the world continue to enjoy the game of dreidel. In Israel, one letter on the dreidel has been changed. The shin has been replaced with a pei, transforming the Hebrew phrase into Nes Gadol Hayah Po. “A great miracle happened here."

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