Hanukkah is a Jewish festival that celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem and the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greeks in 164 BCE. The festival begins on Kislev 25, which usually falls in December according to the Gregorian calendar, and lasts for eight days. The key features of Hanukkah include lighting a candleholder called a menorah for eight nights, playing dreidel, singing celebratory songs, exchanging gifts, and making delicious Hanukkah recipes that remind us of the oil that burned for eight days at the temple in Jerusalem. The holiday is also known as the Festival of Lights, and it symbolizes the creation of light in the darkest times. Hanukkah is celebrated by Jewish people around the world, and it is one of the most popular Jewish religious observances.