This eight-day Jewish festival began at sundown yesterday. The festival commemorates events that took place in Judea more than 2,000 years ago, when the Syrian king Antiochus ordered the Jews to abandon the Torah and publicly worship the Greek gods. This act provoked a rebellion led by Judas Maccabeus, climaxed by the retaking of the Temple in Jerusalem, which had been desecrated by the Syrians. In an eight-day celebration, the Maccabees (as the rebels came to be known) cleansed and rededicated the Temple (Chanukah means "dedication"). According to the Talmud, there was only enough consecrated oil to relight the candelabra for one day, yet, miraculously, it remained lit for eight days. The central feature of the observance of Chanukah is the nightly lighting of the Chanukiah, an eight-branched candelabra with a place for a ninth candle, the shammes, used to light the others. One candle is lit on the first night of Chanukah, and an additional candle is lit on each successive night, until, on the eighth night, the Chanukiah is fully illuminated.
The term "red-letter day" originates with the tradition of marking holy days in a church calendar in red. We use the term here to designate days of special significance in each month -- holidays, astronomical happenings, anniversaries of historic events, and days with memorable folklore attached. Information is drawn from the library of The Old Farmer's Almanac.
Every month you'll find a calendar of these "red-letter days" on the front page of Almanac.com.
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