Hanukkah

[ hah-nuh-kuh; Ashkenazic Hebrew khah-nuh-kuh; Sephardic Hebrew khah-noo-kah ]
/ ˈhɑ nə kə; Ashkenazic Hebrew ˈxɑ nə kə; Sephardic Hebrew xɑ nuˈkɑ /

noun

a Jewish festival lasting eight days, celebrated from the 25th day of the month of Kislev to the 2nd of Tevet in commemoration of the rededication of the Temple by the Maccabees following their victory over the Syrians under Antiochus IV, characterized chiefly by the lighting of the menorah on each night of the festival.
Also Chanukah.
Also called Feast of Dedication, Feast of Lights.

Origin of Hanukkah

First recorded in 1890–95, Hanukkah is from the Hebrew word ḥănukkāh literally, a dedicating

Definition for feast of lights (2 of 2)

Feast of Dedication

noun

Hanukkah.
Also called Feast of Lights.

British Dictionary definitions for feast of lights (1 of 3)

Feast of Lights

noun

Judaism an English name for Hanukkah

British Dictionary definitions for feast of lights (2 of 3)

Feast of Dedication

noun

Judaism a literal translation of Chanukah

British Dictionary definitions for feast of lights (3 of 3)

Hanukkah

Hanukah or Chanukah

/ (ˈhɑːnəkə, -nʊˌkɑː, Hebrew xanuˈka) /

noun

the eight-day Jewish festival of lights beginning on the 25th of Kislev and commemorating the rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabaeus in 165 bc Also called: Feast of Dedication, Feast of Lights

Word Origin for Hanukkah

from Hebrew, literally: a dedication

Cultural definitions for feast of lights

Hanukkah
[ (khah-nuh-kuh, hah-nuh-kuh) ]

A festival in Judaism that occurs each December. Hanukkah commemorates the victory of the Jews (see also Jews) in the second century b.c. over the Syrians, who had occupied their country, and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem (see also Jerusalem) (hanukkah is Hebrew for “dedication”). Observers of Hanukkah light one candle in a candleholder called a menorah each night for eight nights in memory of a legend that, when the Temple was rededicated, its lamps burned, without enough oil, miraculously for a week.

notes for Hanukkah

Hanukkah was formerly one of the less important Jewish festivals, but today it is celebrated by Jews in many parts of the world — especially the United States, where it overlaps with the celebration of Christmas.