Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that usually falls in November or December. This year, it will be celebrated from the evening of Sunday, November 28, to the evening of Monday, December 6.
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after it was reclaimed from the Syrian-Greeks in the second century BCE. According to the Talmud, when the Jews returned to the temple, they found only one jar of oil that was still pure enough to light the menorah. The oil was only enough to last for one day, but miraculously, it lasted for eight days until more oil could be obtained.
The most well-known Hanukkah custom is the lighting of the menorah, a nine-branched candelabrum. The menorah is lit with one candle on the first night, two on the second, and so on until all eight candles are lit on the final night. The ninth branch, called the shamash, is used to light the other candles.
Other Hanukkah traditions include playing dreidel, a four-sided spinning top, and eating foods cooked in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnuts).
If you would like to learn more about Hanukkah, including its history, traditions, and customs, you can visit Chabad.org, a website that provides a comprehensive guide to the holiday.
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default_cdo/jewish/Hanukkah.htm