Hanukkah is often reduced to candles, gifts, and fried food. But behind the familiar rituals is a story of resistance, faith, and the enduring power of light in dark times.
MANILA, Philippines โ Each year, as nights grow longer in the Northern Hemisphere, Jewish families around the world light candles one by one on a nine-branched menorah. The glow marks Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lightsโa celebration rooted not in abundance, but in scarcity; not in conquest, but in survival.
At the heart of Hanukkah is a story that dates back more than 2,000 years, to a moment when a small community chose faith and identity over forced assimilation.
A holiday born from resistance
Hanukkah commemorates events in the 2nd century BCE, when the Seleucid Empire ruled over Judea. Jewish religious practices were suppressed, and the Second Temple in Jerusalem was desecrated. A group of Jewish rebels, later known as the Maccabees, led an uprising that eventually reclaimed the Temple.
When they sought to relight the Templeโs menorah, tradition holds that they found only enough consecrated oil to last one day. Instead, the flame burned for eight daysโlong enough to prepare new oil. This moment became known as the miracle of the oil, and it is why Hanukkah lasts eight nights.
The word Hanukkah itself means โdedicationโโa reference to the rededication of the Temple, but also to the rededication of a people to their faith and way of life.
Lighting candles, telling a story
Each night of Hanukkah, families light another candle on the hanukkiah, using a helper candle called the shamash. The ritual is simple but deliberate: light increases gradually, never decreases. In Jewish tradition, this symbolizes the idea that holiness and hope should always grow.
The candles are meant to be seenโplaced near windows or doorwaysโturning private faith into a quiet public witness. In many ways, the act is as political as it is spiritual: a reminder that identity does not have to be hidden to survive.
Why oil matters
Food plays a central role in Hanukkah celebrations, especially dishes fried in oil. Latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnuts) are more than comfort foodโthey are edible memory.
Oil, in the Hanukkah story, represents endurance. It is a reminder that what seems insufficient can still sustain a community longer than expected.
Not the biggest holidayโbut a meaningful one
Contrary to popular perception, Hanukkah is not the most important holiday in Judaism. It does not carry the religious weight of Yom Kippur or Passover. Its prominence today, especially outside Israel, is partly culturalโshaped by its proximity to Christmas and the visibility of public celebrations.
Yet its message resonates strongly in modern times.
Hanukkah speaks to religious freedom, minority rights, and the refusal to let powerful systems erase smaller cultures. It tells a story where victory is not defined by dominance, but by the ability to keep a flame alive.
Light against the darkness
Hanukkahโs symbolism feels timely in a world marked by war, displacement, and cultural erasure.
The holiday does not deny darkness; it acknowledges itโand responds with light, one small flame at a time.
As the candles burn low at the end of each night, they leave behind a simple but enduring lesson: even limited resources, when protected and shared, can illuminate more than expected.
And sometimes, that is miracle enough.
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