The starting date on the western calendar varies from year to year, but usually falls between late November and late December.
Hanukkah is the preferred spelling, but it can also be spelled Chanukah or Chanukkah.
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One symbol of Hanukkah is the dreidel. A game is played with this four-sided spinning top. Before the Maccabean Revolt, it was illegal for people under the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes to read the Torah. When soldiers came through, Jews pretended to play a gambling game involving tops.
Traditional Hanukkah foods, such as the latkes, or potato pancakes, are fried in oil, as another way to incorporate the memory of the Maccabees into the holiday.
