This year Hanukkah, the “Festival of Lights,” is celebrated nightly from Dec. 25 to Jan. 2—marking the first time since 2005 it has begun on Christmas Day.
Hanukkah is the Jewish word for “dedication” and refers to the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
In the second century B.C., Israel was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of observing mitzvah and believing in God.
Led by Judah the Maccabee, a small group of Jewish soldiers defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of God.
“Hannukah is about the miracles that happen, and achieving peace is going to be nothing more than a miracle,” Rabbi David Kaiman of the Congregation B’nai Israel said last year. “Just as the Maccabees way back in the second century B.C. sought to bring peace and their own existence and freedom into the Holy Land, we pray for that same kind of miracle here so that there will be peace for all.”
The Menorah, a seven branched candelabrum, is lit for eight days to honor the miracle of finding a cruse with a single day’s worth of olive oil that escaped contamination from the Greeks. The oil lasted eight days instead of one, which began the tradition.
Before the Menorah is lit each night, special blessings are recited, and traditional songs are sung afterward.
A Menorah is lit in each household and traditionally placed where it can be seen from the outside to symbolize the spreading of God’s light to all nations.
“These ancient flames carry a timeless message,” Chabad UF wrote in an email newsletter Wednesday. “They hold the weight of thousands of years of history and echo the hopes and dreams of the countless Jews who have lit them before you. If you listen closely, you can hear them telling a story that remains ever-relevant.”
Traditional celebrations include foods cooked in oil (to represent the miracle of the oil), dreidels and giving gelt—or monetary gifts—to children.
The 2025 Hanukkah celebration comes amid the lingering Israel-Hamas conflict, which began when terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. More than 14 months later, some 100 hostages are still in captivity.
The B’nai Congregation and Chabad UF will hold Hanukkah events throughout the next week in Gainesville.
Editor’s note: A different version of this story published in 2023.