Hanukkah is the Feast of Lights and celebrates Israel's successful fight for religious freedom. In the year 165 BC., the Jews were under Syrian persecution that was led by Antiochus Epiphanes. Thinking to make a mockery of the Jews religion, Antiochus Epiphanes offered a sow on the altar, thus desecrating the temple. Judas Maccabeaus would take no more. He and his followers, called Maccabees, fought back and succeeded in crushing the Syrian invaders and reestablishing Jewish worship. (This freedom was precious, though short-lived, with the Roman invasion just around the corner.) A miracle is said to have occurred during the re-dedication of the temple. Though the lamps were to remain lit for eight days, there was only enough of the specially prepared oil for one day. Yet the lamps burned on for eight days--the miracle of Hanukkah.
