Jehudah Maccabaeus leading his Jewish army, the Maccabees) into battle. (Credit: Ann Ronan Pictures/Getty Images)
Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem during the second century B.C, following the triumph of a small group of Jewish rebels, known as the Maccabees, against their oppressors the Greek-Syrians, who had defiled the temple by erecting an altar to Zeus and sacrificing pigs within its sacred walls. In order to rededicate the temple, the Maccabees had to light a menorah that would burn within the temple at all times. However, they only had enough pure olive oil to last for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, leaving time to find a fresh supply of oil.
