Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah, also called the Festival of Lights. A well known Jewish holiday, it commemorates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after the successful Maccabean Revolt in the 2nd century B.C.E. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days; each night, a candle is lit on the menorah. The eight nights of light honor the story of the Temple re-dedication when oil was needed for the menorah but was in short supply. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days. Hanukkah is not a celebration of a military victory, it commemorates the miracle of the oil lasting longer than anyone might have expected.

“Never fear shadows they simply mean there’s a light shining somewhere nearby” 
~ Ruth E. Renkel