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The Story of Chanukah

Can you imagine going to a petrol filling station with your Mum or Dad and buying just one cup of petrol, and can you now imagine that car going for miles and miles without needing any more? However, such a miracle did take place...

Many, many years ago in 165 BC, more than 2,000 years ago, Judas Maccabeus defeated the forces of Antiochus with a small army of Hebrews and recaptured the temple in Jerusalem. When they came down to the temple they found it had been ruined and the temple light no longer shone. They searched and searched and at last found a small unopened container of oil and used it to light up the temple menorah, but unfortunately there was only enough oil to burn for one day. However, that is when the miracle happened - for that light continued to burn for eight days thus allowing time for more oil to be found.

We now celebrate Chanukah -- the Festival of Light -- and remember that wonderful story as we light our own menorahs for those same eight days. Traditionally we eat foods that are cooked in oil such as doughnuts or latkes (you might like to try the delicious recipe in our recipes section), to remember that little container of oil that burnt for so long , also we play spinning the dreidel. On each side of this top are the Hebrew letters nun, gimel, hay and shin, the first letters of the words nes gadol hayay sham which translate to 'a great miracle happened here'. It's an incredible and fascinating story and one that we will always remember as every year we light our Chanucah candles burning so brightly against the Winter darkness.