Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, begins with the lighting of the first candle on the menorah. (File)

The Jewish celebration of Hanukkah begins at sundown on Dec. 16 and lasts until Dec. 24.

The eight-day celebration, also known as the Festival of Lights, commemorates the rededication (the word Hanukkah itself means “dedication”) of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem during the time of the Maccabean Revolt against Greek oppressors in 165 B.C.

As part of their rededication ceremony, a group of Jewish leaders known as the Maccabees began an eight-day purification ritual before discovering there was not enough sacred oil to keep the temple’s menorah lit for one day. A miracle occurred and the temple lamp burned for eight days, inspiring the annual commemoration.

When is Hannukah celebrated? The time period for Hannukah is determined by the Hebrew calendar, falling on the 25^th day of Kislev or roughly anytime from late November to late December according to the Gregorian calendar.

What happens during Hannukah? Each night of the celebration is commemorated by the giving of gifts, eating latkes (potato pancakes – you can find out how to make them here) and lighting a nine-armed candelabra known as a menorah. Eight of the candles represent each night the temple oil burned; the ninth is a helper candle, known as Shamash, which is used to light the others. A new candle is placed in the Menorah from right to the left each night and candles are lit from left to right. Three blessings are said during this time with a prayer honoring God as the one who “performed miracles for our ancestors in days of old.”

What else? Like many other holidays, special foods are part of the celebration. Latkes are often joined by apple sauce or sour cream. Fried foods are also served in commemoration of the oil that inspired the first celebration. Other traditional foods include Loukoumades (deep-fried puffs dipped in honey or sugar), pancakes, and Sufganiot, or jelly-filled fried donuts. You can read more about Hanukkah foods here.

What is gelt? Gelt translates to “Hanukkah money” and refers to real money as well as chocolate coins given to Jewish children. The traditional reason for the coins is following the victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks, the Jewish people minted their own currency. The foil-covered gelt is often used as prizes for children playing with a dreidel.

And what’s a dreidel? Dreidels are four sided tops with marking of Hebrew letters (Nun, Gimel, Hei and Shin) on each side. Those letters stand for the Hebrew phrase “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham,” or a “great miracle happened there.” Dreidel involves participants spinning the top and then, based on which letter the top falls on, receiving a certain number of prizes from the pot. The game also gave its name to a song: “Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel/I made it out of clay/And when it’s dry and ready/Dreidel I shall play.”

Is Hanukkah the same as Chanukah?

Yes, there are 16 different spelling variations for the Jewish holiday. The variations come from the lack of a direct translation of the Hebrew word but H is the closest, so sometimes the word is spelled Hanukkah and other times Chanukah. While a major social and culture holiday, Hanukkah is not a Jewish High Holiday.

International Business Times contributed to this report.