[光明节] What exactly is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah (sometimes transliterated Chanukkah) is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days and nights. It starts on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev, which coincides with late November-late December on the Gregorian calendar. This year it starts on December 7 and ends on December 14.
In the Hebrew language, the word "hanukkah" means "dedication." The name reminds us that this holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E.
光明节（希伯来语：חֲנֻכָּה或חנוכה，提比里安转写：Ḥănukkāh），又称修殿节、献殿节、烛光节、哈努卡节、马加比节等，是一个犹太教节日。该节日乃纪念犹太人在马加比家族的领导下，从叙利亚塞琉古王朝国王安条克四世手上夺回耶路撒冷，并重新将耶路撒冷第二圣殿献给上帝。
该节日自西元前165年开始为犹太教所信守，节期为犹太历的基斯流月。
The Hanukkah Story
In 168 B.C.E. the Jewish Temple was seized by Syrian-Greek soldiers and dedicated to the worship of the god Zeus. This upset the Jewish people, but many were afraid to fight back for fear of reprisals. Then in 167 B.C.E. the Syrian-Greek emperor Antiochus made the observance of Judaism an offense punishable by death. He also ordered all Jews to worship Greek gods.
Jewish resistance began in the village of Modiin, near Jerusalem. Greek soldiers forcibly gathered the Jewish villages and told them to bow down to an idol, then eat the flesh of a pig – both practices that are forbidden to Jews.
A Greek officer ordered Mattathias, a High Priest, to acquiesce to their demands, but Mattathias refused. When another villager stepped forward and offered to cooperate on Mattathias' behalf, the High Priest became outraged. He drew his sword and killed the villager, then turned on the Greek officer and killed him too. His five sons and the other villagers then attacked the remaining soldiers, killing all of them.
Mattathias and his family went into hiding in the mountains, where other Jews wishing to fight against the Greeks joined them. Eventually they succeeded in retaking their land from the Greeks. These rebels became known as the Maccabees, or Hasmoneans.
Once the Maccabees had regained control they returned to the Temple in Jerusalem. By this time it had been spiritually defiled by being used for the worship of foreign gods and also by practices such as sacrificing swine. Jewish troops were determined to purify the Temple by burning ritual oil in the Temple’s menorah for eight days. But to their dismay, they discovered that there was only one day's worth of oil left in the Temple.
They lit the menorah anyway and to their surprise the small amount of oil lasted the full eight days.
This is the miracle of the Hanukkah oil that is celebrated every year when Jews light a special menorah known as a hanukkiyah for eight days. One candle is lit on the first night of Hanukkah, two on the second, and so on, until eight candles are lit.
历史
光明节不是《托拉》上记载的节日，而是为了纪念公元前165年犹太民族反抗异族企图消灭犹太教起义胜利、收复耶路撒冷、洁净第二圣殿并把它重新献给上帝的日子。
公元前168年，统治巴勒斯坦的塞琉古王朝安条克四世为了强制推行“希腊化运动”，宣布犹太教非法，并采取各种严厉措施消灭犹太教，其中最令犹太民族不能容忍的是在耶路撒冷犹太人圣殿里竖起希腊神祇奥林匹亚宙斯的祭坛，在上面用犹太人视为不洁的猪进行献祭，并强迫犹太人食用猪肉，对不从者格杀勿论。这一仇视犹太教的做法导致了一场反抗塞琉古王朝统治的犹太人起义。3年后，以犹大·玛喀比为首的起义取得了胜利，耶路撒冷为犹太人收复。犹大·玛喀比下令净化圣殿，清除异教痕迹，重建犹太人祭坛（故亦称“净殿节”），并规定了庆祝这一胜利的活动日期。
光明节从基斯流月（犹太历9月）25日开始，延续八天。八天的节期与两个传说有关：一是玛喀比士兵因战斗而无法庆祝为期八天的住棚节，故以此作为补偿。二是收复、净化圣殿后，在打算点燃圣殿中的“七枝灯台”时，人们只找到了一小罐专门用于圣殿的灯油，犹太律法规定用于圣殿的灯油须从橄榄中提炼，并由掌管圣殿的大祭司经过一番洁净礼仪后才能使用。而无论是制作还是去外地取来这种净化过的灯油，均需要八天时间。然而，由于上帝对犹太人的恩赐和垂注，奇迹发生了，这一小罐原本只能燃用一天的灯油竟然一直燃烧了八天。根据这一传说，该节日最主要的仪式是点燃九枝灯台（再献圣殿节灯台，专门为庆祝哈努卡节使用的一种灯），第一天点燃灯台一枝灯盏，以后每天增加一枝灯盏，一直到第八天结束。故也有人称之为“光明节”。
Significance of Hanukkah
According to Jewish law, Hanukkah is one of the less important Jewish holidays. However, Hanukkah has become much more popular in modern practice because of its proximity to Christmas.
Because many Jews live in predominately Christian societies, over time Hanukkah has become much more festive and Christmas-like. Jewish children receive gifts for Hanukkah – often one gift for each of the eight nights of the holiday. Many parents hope that by making Hanukkah extra special their children won't feel left out of all the Christmas festivities going on around them.
Hanukkah Traditions
Every community has its unique Hanukkah traditions, but there are some traditions that are almost universally practiced. They are: lighting the hanukkiyah, spinning the dreidel and eating fried foods.
Lighting the hanukkiyah: Every year it is customary to commemorate the miracle of the Hanukkah oil by lighting candles on a hanukkiyah. The hanukkiyah is lit every night for eight nights.
Spinning the dreidel: A popular Hanukkah game is spinning the dreidel, which is a four-sided top with Hebrew letters written on each side. Gelt, which are chocolate coins covered with tin foil, are part of this game.
Eating fried foods: Because Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of oil, it is traditional to eat fried foods such as latkes and sufganiyot during the holiday. Latkes are pancakes made out of potatoes and onions, which are fried in oil and then served with applesauce. Sufganiyot (singular: sufganiyah) are jelly-filled donuts that are fried and sometimes dusted with confectioners’ sugar before eating.
习俗
犹太人是一个不事张扬的民族，通常不在众目睽睽下，而只在家里奉行犹太人的律法。但有趣的是，有关光明节的诫命却包含了“散播神迹”这样一个概念，即让越多的人知道越好，因此，光明节使用的灯台通常要摆放在窗帘拉开的窗台上，以便让外面的人能够看到。
为了表达对于出现“奇迹”的喜悦，光明节的第一天晚餐通常是正式而盛大的，常有亲朋应邀参加。晚餐前，先点上烛台，互相祝贺。传统必食用的特定食品是油炸土豆丝饼。食用油炸食品是为了使人联想起上帝所行的奇迹。晚餐结束后，人们、特别是儿童，还要玩光明节陀螺的游戏。
以色列建国后，为弘扬玛喀比起义包含的“民族团结，共御外敌”的精神，行政当局总要在室外点燃大型九枝灯台，组织各种体育活动，其中最主要的是火炬长跑。