00:00 Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday with a rich history and various associated symbols and objects.

02:08 The spelling of Hanukkah varies, but the preferred version is with an H; the festival has its origins in the conquest of Judea by the Seleucid Empire.

04:07 Antiochus IV instituted a policy of Hellenization, banning the practice of Judaism and all Jewish customs, leading to a revolt by the Maccabees who eventually recaptured Jerusalem and the temple in 164 B.C.

06:00 Once the temple was recaptured, it had to be rededicated, which included lighting the menorah, a central symbol of Judaism that was kept inside the temple and had seven branches that could be lit with pure, fresh, consecrated olive oil, but due to a lack of purified oil, the legend goes that a single jar managed to keep the menorah lit for eight days, leading to the celebration of Hanukkah lasting eight days.

08:04 The story of the oil miracle has been passed down from Jewish historian Flavius Josephus and the Talmud, and the tradition of celebrating Hanukkah spread with the Jewish diaspora after the destruction of the second temple by the Romans, but it was not considered a major religious holiday until the 20th century.

10:00 Hanukkah is celebrated in December and has become commercialized, with the most obvious symbols being the menorah and the dreidel.

11:59 The dreidel game involves betting and the first player has an advantage, Hanukkah gelt is a tradition of giving children small coins, and popular Hanukkah foods are cooked in oil.