Hanukkah is one of 8 major Jewish holidays

Hanukkah was once considered a minor holiday until it grew in the 20th century

Hanukkah, also called the Festival of Lights, honors the Maccabees’ victory over the Seleucid Empire and the miracle of a single night’s oil burning for eight days in the rededicated Temple of Jerusalem.

Hanukkah wasn’t always a major Jewish holiday

In the 1800s, Jewish immigrants to the United States began searching for ways to maintain their cultural identity in an overwhelmingly Christian environment. Because Hanukkah often falls around the same time as Christmas, Jewish congregations began adapting Christmastime traditions like gift giving to their own holiday.

Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of the oil lamp and the Maccabees' military victory

The annual winter holiday celebrates both events, which ultimately resulted in increased religious freedom for the Jewish people.

Unique Hanukkah traditions exist globally, thanks to the global spread of Judaism

In Mexico, they smash dreidel-shaped piñatas, while in Morocco, children make bonfires from the leftover candles. And in Tunisia, Hanukkah overlaps with the Festival of Daughters, during which women are freed from doing any labor and gather to snack on doughnuts and honey cookies.

For many Jewish people, Hanukkah represents the resilience of their community

Today, many Jews interpret Hanukkah in the context of several centuries of history, including the Holocaust. Alan Avery-Peck’s essay explores how the holiday's meaning has evolved according to each generation's struggles.

Find decades of Hanukkah stories to listen to

For over 30 years, National Public Radio has broadcast its Hanukkah Lights series, a collection of original fiction that relates to the holiday. Here, you’ll find a repository of listeners’ favorite past tales, going back decades.

How to make a Hanukkah feast

You might think you know latkes and kugel, but this collection of Hanukkah-appropriate recipes from Food & Wine takes things to a whole new level. Shake things up at your next holiday table with cinnamon-cardamom sufganiyot, rugelach with a tahini glaze, or brisket with caramelized fennel.

The history of the White House Hanukkah party

Despite celebrating Christmas for hundreds of years, the US Presidential White House didn't have its first Hanukkah celebration until 1979, when Jimmy Carter oversaw the lighting of a menorah. Since then, the tradition has expanded, including lessons on playing with dreidels and big parties. See a timeline of the events here.

Lighting the menorah is viewed as the most important Hanukkah ritual

This short video guides viewers through the process, from the supplies required to the order in which the candles are lit. It also covers the prayers that are recited nightly and associated blessings for each individual night.

A millennial's guide to American Hanukkah specials

The 1990s and early 2000s were a boom time for television specials, including dozens of Hanukkah specials. See classics like Adam Sandler's "Chanukah Song" on "SNL" or the special "Rugrats" episode for the holiday.

The 'Book of Judith' is a noncanonical Hanukkah story of deliverance

Though the text was not considered a core part of the Hebrew Bible, the medieval Jewish tradition placed her tale within that of the broader Hanukkah story, integrating it into the story of the Maccabees. Scholars view her more as a legendary, inspirational figure.

The Maccabean Revolt is commemorated annually during Hanukkah

The Maccabees were a group of Jews who led a successful uprising against the Seleucid Empire. The revolt began with Alexander the Great's death and the subsequent division of his kingdom, and it resulted in the capture of Jerusalem.

Latkes, or fried potato pancakes, are eaten on Hanukkah to honor the miracle of the lasting oil

Deb Perelman, author of seminal food blog Smitten Kitchen, walks us through her foolproof recipe for classic potato pancakes. Among her tips: choose russet potatoes for a lighter latke, use a towel to wring the water out for extra crispiness, and add a sprinkle of baking powder for a little more lift.

Adam Sandler's 'Chanukah Song' remains significant to the holiday

Adam Sandler’s ’90s SNL bit, “The Chanukah Song,” charmed Gentiles and Jews alike with ridiculous rhymes and catchy chords. Author Nathan Rabin says it also served the important purpose of making Jewish kids feel as special as their Christmas-celebrating classmates.

Many iconic Christmas songs were written by Jewish composers

Jewish songwriters shaped the sound of Christmas, composing hits like “Let it Snow” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Irving Berlin, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, wrote “White Christmas, which remains the bestselling single in music history.

The dreidel is a gambling toy common in Europe in the 18th century

It comes with many Jewish legends and folklore, including claims that young Torah scholars in ancient times used the toy as a secretive means of studying. Historians agree, though, that no evidence of dreidels exists beyond the 18th century.

Cheese is a less-well-known Hanukkah culinary tradition

It comes from a story of Judith, a widow whose hometown of Bethulia in Israel was seized by the Assyrian king Nebuchadnezzar. In some iterations, Judith brought the king's general, Holofernes, an array of salty snacks, including cheese, leading him to drink enough wine to pass out. Judith then beheaded Holofernes, inspiring the Israelites to attack and win the battle.

The world's different calendars, explained

The calendar we use to mark the days, months, and year can feel set in stone, but the history of calendars shows these organization systems can and do change. Parse the fascinating, complex details of the Gregorian, Julian, Chinese, Hebrew, and many more calendars in this comprehensive, well-executed explainer video.

The history of sufganiyot, or Hanukkah doughnuts

Mediterranean-focused food blogger Tori Avey shares her best recipe for fluffy, sugar-dusted sufganiyot and explains the history of the sweet that combines European and North African traditions.

The winter solstice has been celebrated globally for millennia

From gatherings at Stonehenge in the UK to celebrations of the triumph of Mithra in Iran, cultures around the world have marked the shortest day of the year in a variety of ways for a very long time. Here are eight known to us today that endure.

How lunisolar calendars work

Despite being called Lunar New Year, the Chinese calendar that the holiday is based on is actually lunisolar, or based on both the sun and the moon. Many religious holidays—including Easter, Ramadan, Chinese New Year, and Passover—do not have fixed dates according to the now-ubiquitous Gregorian calendar.

Look up the date of any Islamic holiday going back to 622 CE

The US Naval Observatory's calculator converts Hijri calendar dates to Gregorian and vice versa, covering Islamic holidays from the first year of the Islamic calendar through the present. The resource helps show how much Ramadan's dates shift year over year and allows readers to find out when Ramadan would have fallen in a certain year.

Christmas celebrates the anniversary of God's birth as the man Jesus

The major holiday originated in the Christian doctrine of God's incarnation in first-century Roman Judea. Though it was not celebrated for several hundred years after Jesus' death, it took on greater importance as the church spread, culminating in a global holiday season today.

A 101 on why Ramadan is the holiest time of the Muslim year

As a spiritual guide for members of the Brandeis University community, this overview surfaces the highlights to orient readers on Ramadan logistics, practices, and obligations. It's a useful start for those interested in learning the basics around fasting rules, exemptions, the significance of iftar and suhoor, and common greetings.

The solstice has been celebrated globally for millennia.

See how Advent traditions vary widely around the world

Advent is celebrated in distinct ways across countries—Chinese Christians hang colorful lanterns, Mexicans reenact Las Posadas processions, Germans light weekly wreath candles, and Hungarians attend dawn matins—reflecting how local cultures shape the season’s preparation.

Explained: The Year of the Rabbit

One of the world's largest holidays, this visual guide will help you welcome the Year of the Rabbit and celebrate the new lunar year.

Manhattan's tiny wire allowing orthodox Jews to carry things on the Sabbath

An 18-mile wire known as an "eruv" encircles most of Manhattan, allowing observant Jews to carry things within its boundaries. This wire is one of many Sabbath workarounds rooted in the ancient rules for resting on the Sabbath day. Every week, a worker inspects the eruv line, and its maintenance costs $100K a year.

New Year's Eve celebrations date back to ancient Babylon

Rather than celebrating in winter, the Babylonians honored the vernal equinox, a day in late March with equal amounts of darkness and light that signaled the start of a new year. They celebrated with Akitu, an 11-day festival.

How Eastern Orthodox and other Christians celebrate Easter differently

Western churches switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1582, though the Orthodox Church still calculates Easter using the Julian calendar, which runs 13 days behind. Orthodox Easter also must always follow Jewish Passover. The result is two Easters that can fall up to five weeks apart.

The Advent wreath marks each week before Christmas with the lighting of candles

An Advent wreath is a circle of evergreens holding four candles—one for each Sunday of Advent. Christians light a new candle each week, often tied to themes like hope or joy, creating a visible countdown to Christmas.

Many religions have core majorities in certain countries

Though most religions have members across the world, they also have major concentrated populations in specific nations. For example, 95% of Hindus live in India, while 85% of the world's Jews live in Israel and the US.

The season celebrates Jesus' birth and anticipates the Second Coming of Christ

The Christian Bible’s New Testament features four gospels, or lives of Jesus, each of which describes the birth of Jesus in different ways (or does not mention it). Historians, both secular and religious, have sought to contextualize the biblical accounts with empirical evidence.

Saturnalia was a Roman festival that helped shape Christmas

Ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia in mid-December, honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture, with week-long street festivals. These celebrations featured gift exchanges, lavish meals, and gambling, which was prohibited in public at the time.

A look at whether the Last Supper was a Passover Seder meal

Three of the four Gospels describe the Last Supper as a Passover meal, and scholars have cataloged more than a dozen parallels: wine, broken bread, sung hymns, and reclining at the table. But most historians of early Judaism now note that the formal Passover Seder didn't exist as a codified ritual until after 70 CE, decades after Jesus died.

Exploring Kristallnacht

Nov. 9 and 10, 1938, saw Nazi members break into Jewish stores and homes across Germany in retaliation for the assassination of a German diplomat by a Polish Jew. The event—called "Kristallnacht," meaning "night of the broken glass"—was tacitly condoned by the German authorities at the time. This richly produced interactive explores the events of Kristallnacht guided by one of its survivors, Charlotte Knobloch.

Holocaust History

Born in Berlin in 1924, to a Catholic father and Jewish mother, Wolfgang Haney survived the Holocaust, though many in his family did not. He spent a large part of his life collecting more than 15,000 objects related to the history of anti-Semitism, before dying in 2017. Recently, the German Historical Museum acquired his collection, as detailed in this article

Lunar New Year is celebrated around the globe

“Lunar New Year” is a catchall term that encompasses celebrations in several Asian countries. The date of the new year can vary by location depending on which calendar—lunar, lunisolar, or solar—is being used, but many of the traditions are shared across borders.

Advent marks the beginning of the church calendar in Western Christianity

Each denomination’s calendar of holy days varies, but most mark the start of a new year at the beginning of Advent. Within Roman Catholicism, Advent is a distinct period from Christmas, alongside other seasons: Ordinary Time, Lent, Easter, Holy Week, and Pentecost.

The Lunar New Year lasts 15 days, with specific rituals for specific days

On the first night, loved ones gather to celebrate their honor and say goodbye to the successes and tribulations of the old year. On the fourth day, the God of the Kitchen is honored to prevent kitchen accidents. And beginning on day 12, people prepare for the final Festival of Lanterns.

Countries that celebrate Easter

Easter is observed as a national holiday in more than 95 countries, with traditions varying wildly—from water fights in Hungary to crime novel reading in Norway—reflecting how thoroughly Christian practice has mixed with local culture.

Norse Yule solstice rituals inspired many modern Christmas decorations

Scandinavian Vikings celebrated Yule during the winter solstice, burning massive, decorated logs to protect their homes and ensure good harvests, while hoping for the sun's return. The festival included evergreens, mistletoe, holly, and ivy.

Twelve ways the world celebrates springtime

Celebrating the seasonal change is rarely filled with as much relief and hope around the world as spring. This list compiles some famous and lesser-known springtime traditions from diverse cultures.

Visualizing the spread of five major religions across the world

Every major religion has a story that started in a specific place before growing to reach millions. This quick video depicts an illustrated map over the last 5,000 years, showing how Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam grew from their humble beginnings.

Ramadan will be celebrated twice in 2030 due to the 33-year lunar cycle

Because the Islamic year is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, Ramadan migrates through every season over a 33-year cycle. In 2030, it will fall twice in the same Gregorian year.

The agricultural history of the pumpkin

Pumpkin pie holds a special place in Thanksgiving traditions, but its journey from everyday produce to a seasonal treat spans over 10,000 years. Trace the history of this oversized fruit with this fascinating dive. Pumpkins belong to the species...

Advent's length varies from 21 to 28 days each year

Because Advent always begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, its duration varies. When Christmas falls on a Monday, Advent is unusually short, and when it falls on a Sunday, it can be nearly four full weeks long.

Many New Year's Eve traditions came from German immigrants

While it’s hard to trace the origins of many New Year’s traditions, many of the norms for American New Year’s Eve celebrations come from German immigrants, who significantly influenced American culture in the 1800s. Below is an excerpt from an 1863 New York Times article describing a German New Year’s celebration.

Easter is an uncommon name for Pascha, from the Hebrew 'pesach'

It's often said Easter is derived from pagan rituals. The word "Easter" does stem from a Germanic term for "dawn," but most cultural names for the holiday more clearly point to its Jewish history in the Passover.

Hughes' 'Black Nativity' reworked the Christmas story through jazz improvisation

Although he’s primarily known as a poet, Langston Hughes was also a popular playwright. One of his most inventive works is the 1961 stage show “Black Nativity,” which told the story of Christ’s birth with an all-Black cast. Hughes’ original script encourages improvisation, calling on his love of jazz, and includes 27 songs.