Chanukah (also spelled Hanukkah) is an eight-day Jewish holiday celebrating a miracle that happened over 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem. After a small group of Jewish fighters called the Maccabees reclaimed their temple from an occupying army, they found only enough sacred oil to keep the temple's menorah (a special lamp) lit for one day. Miraculously, that tiny amount of oil burned for eight full days, giving them time to prepare more.

Today, Jewish families celebrate Chanukah by lighting a special nine-branched menorah called a chanukiah, adding one candle each night until all eight are glowing. The ninth candle, called the shamash, is used to light the others. Families gather to play games with a spinning top called a dreidel, exchange gifts, and eat foods fried in oil (like potato pancakes called latkes and jelly donuts called sufganiyot) to remember the miracle of the oil.

Chanukah usually falls in December, though the exact dates change each year because the Jewish calendar follows the cycles of the moon rather than the sun. The holiday celebrates both the military victory of the Maccabees and the miracle that followed, reminding Jewish people of their ancestors' courage and faith in difficult times.