Hokay, so. There was the regular set-up, right, with the opressive dictators and the valiant underdogs. So the valiant underdogs, the Maccabees (if that sounds familiar, there's a soccer club by that
name) go and valiantly retake the Jewish Holy Temple (this was before it got detsroyed {again}). And to symbolise their success, after they clean it up and wipe the graffitti off the walls, they have to light the Menorah,
big candlabra style thing. Only they have enough
oil for ONE day, and it'll take eight for
extra oil to arrive. But
God intervenes, as per usual, and miraculously the one little jar of
oil lasts eight days. This is probably because the little jar of
oil was an underdog.
On Hannukka (or Hanuka, Hanukah, Chanuka, Chanukka, Channukka, etc - only holiday in the world nobody can agree on how to spell) all the Jews celebrate the miraculous Miracle by lighting a Hannukkia (like a Menorah, only with eight branch thingies) and giving all the
kids bushels of presents. Also chocolate happens.
