Hanukkah Starts December 14 Amid San Diego Celebrations

Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, begins at sundown on Sunday, December 14, and continues through December 22, drawing families and communities worldwide to celebrate resilience and faith amid winter's darkness. Observed for eight nights, the holiday commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century B.C.E., following a successful Jewish revolt against Seleucid forces that had desecrated the site.

The story at the heart of Hanukkah dates to around 168 B.C.E., when Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV seized Jerusalem, banned Jewish religious practices, and ordered the Temple converted for worship of Greek gods, including the sacrifice of pigs in violation of Jewish law. Led by Judah Maccabee and his followers, a group of rebels reclaimed the Temple after three years of fighting. According to the Talmud, they found only enough ritually pure oil to keep the Temple's menorah lit for one day, yet it miraculously burned for eight days, allowing time to prepare more. This miracle inspires the holiday's central ritual: lighting one additional candle each night on a nine-branched menorah, with the shamash candle used to kindle the others. Candles are added...