Chanukah Basics

The history, the observances, and the inner significance . . .

Become an expert on this widely celebrated but barely understood Jewish festival.

What does the holiday of Chanukah celebrate? How is it spelled, Chanukah or Hanukkah? What does the word Chanukah mean? What is the ninth candle for? Is Chanukah a major Jewish holiday? Answers to these questions and more . . .

People love to joke about the many ways to pronounce and spell Chanukah. But what does chanukah actually mean?

The dreidel, known in Hebrew as a sevivon, dates back to the time of the Greek-Syrian rule over the Holy Land—which set off the Maccabean revolt that culminated in the Chanukah miracle.