Chanukah also known as Hanukkah, starts on Sunday evening, November 28, and the Eighth Day of Chanukah is Sunday through Monday, December 5-6.

Chanukah is the Jewish festival that brings light and warmth into the darkest time of the year. It is on the lunar calendar during the darkest phases of the moon and on the solar calendar near the shortest days of the year.

Jewish traditions celebrate the miracle of light that took place after the ancient Jews triumphed over Assyrian invaders in 168 BCE. Jewish families celebrate by lighting candles during the eight days of Chanukah, eating foods cooked in oil reminding us of the miracle of one day’s worth of oil lasting the eight days of rededication of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, singing songs, and in some places sharing gifts.

The dreidel is a spinning top used as a kids’ game that is associated with Chanukah because during the Assyrian oppression of the Jews in Israel, Jews were prohibited from studying their sacred texts. They would hide their studying and bring out a dreidel to show that they were playing and not learning.

Today, some Jews celebrate Chanukah with eight days of different themes.

Jewish foods during Chanukah include latkes, potato pancakes, and sufganiyot, jelly donuts, both fried in oil.