What is the meaning of Hanukkah and how many candles do you light?

This year the festival coincides with Christmas, beginning at sundown on Sunday December 18 – as is the case with all Jewish holidays which run according to the lunar Hebrew calendar – and lasts until sunset on Monday December 26.

It’s one of the most celebratory Jewish festivals of all, commemorating a miracle which happened in the ancient Temple, which allowed its everlasting light to burn for eight days when there was only enough fuel to keep it lit for one.

But what does the word Hanukkah actually mean – and how many candles are lit during the festival?

Here’s what you need to know…

What is the meaning of Hanukkah?

The word ‘hanukkah’ actually means ‘dedication’ in Hebrew – and the festival itself commemorates the rededication of the holy Temple in ancient Jerusalem.

The story of the festival dates back to the period in history more than 2,500 years ago when the Jewish holy temple was seized by Syrian-Greek forces.

Their king, Antiochus, gave the Jewish people an impossible choice – either renounce their religion or be sentenced to death.

That’s when a small group of Jewish rebels known as the Maccabees, fought back and were able to recapture the holy temple – but when they did they discovered that there was only enough oil left to keep the holy light (known in Hebrew as the Ner Tamid), a flame which is never meant to go out, for one more day.

However a miracle occurred – and the flame somehow stayed alight for eight more days, which was long enough for another batch of oil to be produced.

The candles which are lit during the festival commemorate this.

How many candles are lit on Hanukkah?

It’s not known as the Festival of Lights for nothing – as Hanukkah involves eight nights of candle lighting on a special candelabra known as a Menorah.

The number of candles lit on the Menorah increases by one each night until eight are lit on the last night – with the middle candle known as the Shamash, which is used to light the other candles each night.

So that means that two candles are lit on the first night, three on the second, four on the third and so on.

And while nine is the maximum number of candles lit on any given night, the total number lit across the festival is 44.

That’s a whole lot of lights.