In 2010, Hanukkah will begin on the evening of 1st December. While many people think that Hannukah is the same as Christmas, it is in fact commemorating an altogether different moment in history. In 164BC the Macabees were victorious over the Greeks, and the holiday is taken to commemorate this event.At this time, the temple was rededicated, and God miraculously made a single day's worth of oil burn for eight whole days.
As a consequence, the festival is also commonly known as the 'festival of light'. Other people sometimes call it the feast of lights. A 9-candeled candelabra is lit to commemorate the miracle, one new candle being lit on each subsequent night of the festival.
One popular custom is to eat fried food at this festival. This is another reference to the oil used in the temple. One such delicacy is 'Latke' – a pancake made from potatoes which will be served with an apple sauce.
As a nod to the other big festival at this time of year – Christmas – it's now becoming more and more popular to give gifts. Normally though, gifts are only exchanged between family members.
This year, why not get a Custom Calendars that contains dates of global holidays? Pretty useful if your company operates across borders. Check out our International calendar now!
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