Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukkah, is a Jewish holiday sometimes known as the Festival of Lights. It’s an eight day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. This year, Hanukkah is observed from sunset, December 20 to nightfall December 28.

Hanukkah marks the victory of the Jews over the forces of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and the rededication of the desecrated Temple in Jerusalem. According to the Talmud, there was only enough consecrated oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day, but the lights burned for eight days. The festival is observed by lighting candles of the Menorah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night.

• Hanukkah Books — From “The Hanukkah Mice” to “The Runaway Dreidel” — here’s a list of great Hanukkah books for kids, all of which can be borrowed from NOBLE libraries!

• Chanukkah — A basic introduction from Judaism 101
• Chanukah — Celebrate the holiday online with Chabord.org!
• Hanukkah — Information from the History Channel website
• Hanukkah — There are crafts and recipes and more at this site from Akhlah, the Jewish Children’s Learning Network
• Chanukah is here — There’s lots to do at this bright and colorful site from Torah Tots!
• Chanukah — Project Genesis, Torah Cyberspace Center, presents this collection of readings on different aspects of the holiday, including Questions and Answers from Rabbi Baruch Pesach Mendelson.
• Hanukat — Ideas and information for celebrating a family Hanukkah
• Happy Hanukkah — Recipes, menus, crafts and decorations from Martha Stewart
• Hanukkah –Easy crafts and ideas for children from the DLTK Kids website
• Hanukkah — A great collection of Hanukkah crafts, games, songs and recipes for young children, from the Ideabox website.

Hanukkah Cooking

• Hanukkah Food — Recipes and menus from Bon Appetit Magazine
• Hanukkah Recipes — A large collection of recipes from the AllRecipes website
• The Best Hannukah Recipes — Recipes, ideas and video clips from the Food Network’s website
• Hanukkah Recipes — Recipes and gourmet gift ideas from the Epicurious website
• Hanukkah Recipes — A collection of recipes from the archives of rec.food.cooking.jewish