Known as the "Festival of Lights," Hanukkah, or Chanukah (the romanized spelling), is an eight-day Jewish holiday which commemorates the "miracle of oil" during the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. According to the Talmud, at the rededication there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the exact length of time needed to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil so that the eternal flame could continue to burn. Thus, with the special nine-branched candelabra called the Menorah, eight candles are lit one by one each night of Chanukah by a ninth candle, called the Shamash, which is used to light the others. This remembrance and ritual is done, as with so many Jewish rituals, to honor the deliverance and restoration of the Jewish people by God in moments of trial and great travail. (Thanks to chabad.org, wikipedia.org, The World's Religions by Huston Smith & The World's Wisdoms by Phillip Novak)