Hanukkah Begins Today
“Hanukkah, today, is an eight-day period of celebration with special songs, foods and special times with family and friends. It is a festival that commemorates the Jewish victory over the Syrian tyrant, Antiochus IV. The word Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) actually means dedication and refers to the rededication of the temple on 25 Kislev 165 BCE, after it had been desecrated by the Syrian King, Antiochus Epiphanes six years earlier in 171 BCE.”
”The main references to Hanukkah come from two main sources: (1) Daniel 8:9-14; 11:21-35; (2) the books of I & II Maccabees. Other sources would include Josephus and the Talmud.”