Hanukkah commemorates the Jewish reunification of Jerusalem and the rededication of the Second Temple in the second century BCE.1)
On Hanukkah, foods are fried in oil to represent the oil that miraculously burnt for 8 nights during the rededication of the Jerusalem temple (2nd century BCE), despite having just enough oil for one day.2)
During Hanukkah, the 9th/middle candle of a menorah is used to ignite all the other candles. This candle, known as a shammash, or aid candle, can be either wax or oil-fueled.3)
The term “Chanukiah” refers to a Hanukkah menorah (9 branches), although “menorah” can refer to any sort of Jewish light, including a Chanukiah.4)
Latkes (fried potato pancakes) and jelly donuts are the two most popular Hanukkah meals among Ashkenazi populations (sufganiyot).5)
Because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, Hanukkah does not always fall on the same day.6)
Hanukkah is mentioned in the books of the First and Second Maccabees. The author narrates the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the lighting of the menorah in this chapter.7)
One of the earliest examples of Hanukkah at the White House occurred in 1951, when Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion presented President Harry Truman with a Hanukkah menorah.8)
Hanukkah literally means “dedication”.9)
The Jewish festival is spelled correctly as both Chanukah and Hanukkah.10)
It's not unthinkable for Hanukkah and Thanksgiving to coincide. When the two holidays coincided in 2013, they were dubbed “Thanksgivukkah”. The next Thanksgiving will be in 2070.11)
On the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 1993, astronaut Jeff Hoffman celebrated Hanukkah with a dreidel and a portable menorah. There was, of course, no candle lighting.12)
Hanukkah can be spelled in over 16 different ways. There is no one way to spell the Jewish festival correctly.13)
A dreidel is a four-sided top with distinct Hebrew characters on each of its four sides. The letters on dreidel are nun, gimmel, hey, and shin, which stands for the Hebrew phrase “a wonderful miracle happened there.14)
The Festival of Lights is another name for Hanukkah.15)