Traditionally, Hanukkah starts on the 35th day of Kislev (the 9th month of the Hebrew calendar.) For eight nights that typically happen somewhere between late November and mid-December, candles are lit in a menorah.
During each lighting, people recite blessings and prayers, sing songs, and exchange gifts. Although it used to be a somewhat minor religious holiday, Hanukkah has become one of the most awaited celebrations since it grew popular in the 20th century.
According to Tatjana Lichtenstein, the director of the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, Hanukkah “offered an opportunity for Jews to participate in the holiday celebrations complete with gift-giving and merry-making without giving up their distinct religious and cultural identities.”
Historically, instead of candles, the celebrants would light oil lamps just like the lights from the Hanukkah story. “In the Hebrew Bible, in the Old Testament in several places, it speaks of pure-beaten olive oil for the light. Olive oil was the main oil of this region and very little other oil was ever used,” Rafael Frankel, an Israeli archeologist, told NPR.
It turns out that Jews started using candles in the 18th century because they were a cleaner and cheaper alternative. People from Eastern Europe “couldn’t get olive oil in the middle of the winter because it’s expensive,” Sten Fine, the director of the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies, told TIME.
