By Martha Bernstein

Living in a multi cultural Island how do Jewish children survive the marketing extravaganza that surrounds Christmas? The answer is quite simple; there is the wonder and joy of celebrating the "The Festival of Chanukah".
The meaning of the Hebrew word Chanukah is 'dedication', and recalls the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrians in 165 BC. The festival is also known as the Festival of Lights. This year it will start on the 4th of December at Sundown and will last for the following 8 days. It has become a tradition to give gifts to children at this festival as it often falls close to Christmas.
So what is the story behind the festival?
The Legend of the Oil: A long time ago in the land of Israel, the Jewish people were ruled by Antiochus, king of the Syrians. He refused to let the Jews practice their religion. This angered the Jews and a man called Mattathias killed a soldier and fled to the hills with his sons and his followers. Mattathias died and his son Judah Maccabee led the Jews in fighting bravely against the Syrians. Even though they were outnumbered they eventually beat the Syrians and recaptured Jerusalem where the Temple stood. When they entered the Temple they found a mess. The Syrians had destroyed almost everything and set up an idol to the Greek gods.
In the Temple was the everlasting light which was supposed to burn constantly and never go out. It needed special oil. Judah and his followers could only find one tiny jar of oil and this was only enough to burn for one day. Judah sent his fastest rider to get some more oil, but even so it took eight days for him to return. Each day they would enter the Temple to find the everlasting light still burning, much to their surprise. In fact it stayed alight for eight days until the new oil arrived. The Temple was then re-dedicated on the 25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev, with much rejoicing and is remembered each year in the festival of Chanukah.
Chanukah commemorates the liberation of the Jews and is seen as a festival of freedom.
The nine branched Chanukiah originates from the first century AD and has eight branches on one level: one for each night of Chanukah and one on a different level for the Worker. It is customary to display the Chanukiah in the window for all to see.
As the festival is associated with Oil for the Eternal lamp all the traditional foods served at this time are fried in oil; doughnuts and potato pancakes to name but two!