Explain Hannukkah to a goy

[Barinthus]

Hannukkah is taking place now and from what I understood it's 7 days long holiday due to a legend behind the Temple and its candles.

Correct?

What I'm looking for here is what are customary practices over Hannukkah?

Some background information here - I met an interesting woman over last summer who happens to be Jewish. Being a Catholic boy myself I am not completely familiar with Jewish rituals.

She doesn't give me an impression of someone who is deeply religiously and doesn't come from a family who are either. So I suppose she'd be considered a 'liberal' Jew as opposite to orthodox (good thing or she'd probably not bother with me ha) and conversatives. Not religious but proud of her Jewish identity.

I will see her this Wednesday which if I am correct will be still Hannukkah?

What are things that a secular Jew do to mark Hannukkah? They give each other small gifts?

She knows I'm not completely familiar with Jewish traditions so it'd score some points for just trying .

[BeBMan]

And is it commercialized in the same way that Xmas is?

[Az]

The fesitivity dates back to ~200BC, when judea released itself from the Seleucid rule and attempts at hellenization. While it's tradition is religious, it's not a 'biblical' holiday, and thus you can cook, perform labor, etc. on these days according to jewish religious law.

And yes, Hannnnukkkkkkah lasts for 8 days.

[Az]

btw, I don't use this word

goy

since some people think it degrades them.

[RGBVideo]

What does "goy" even mean?

[Az]

nation, people.

It became a world meaning 'people of the world', those who aren't jewish.

[Al'Kimiya]

cattle?

[Berzerker]

Geez, doesn't sound insulting to us goys.

Hannukkah is taking place now and from what I understood it's 7 days long holiday due to a legend behind the Temple and its candles.

Correct?

Hannnnukkkkkkah lasts for 8 days.

Is there any significance to the 8 days? Do they represent different things?

[DinoDoc]

How do you spell it?

[Barinthus]

*sigh* there are always sensitive people out there. It does not bother me at all to be referred to as a goy or goyim. After all I'm not a Jew which does not even distrub me at all. Guess those who find this word offensive is secretly a Jew wannabe? Nothing wrong with wanting to be a Jew although but there's the thing with orthodox they have to deal with.

Just like Kenyans calling me a mzungu (or was it mzungi?) which basically mean foreigner, non-African, white devil, whatever.

[Zevico]

Phonetically, there is no English spelling because the word contains a sound at the beginning that is not featured in the English language. Thus there are a few different spellings--Chanukah, Hanukah, and a few ones with extra k's added in. The "Ch" added in is an attempt to somehow grab the Hebrew letter kicking and screaming into the English language, so don't pronounce it "Chair"-nuka, but rather Hanukah (which isn't the correct way, but it is the way many Jews outside of Israel say it). The English term for it is, I believe, the "Festival of Lights", but it isn't commonly used except in books and stuff.

Is there any significance to the 8 days? Do they represent different things?

Yes. It represents the apparent "miracle" of Hanukah. When the Jews kicked out the Seleucids, they wished to light the Menorah (candlebra?) of the Jewish Temple (which had presumably remained unlit due because the Seleucids worshipped Greek Gods). However, they couldn't find any oil within the Temple stores except for one small vessel which, they estimated, would last for only 1 day for the Temple's Menorah. However, it lasted for 8. Seems a bit of a wierd reason, but I guess they may have intended to make it a celebration of independence and used the "miracle" as a way of making people remember (pretty crappy miracle too).

[Barinthus]

From Wikipedia -

In Hebrew, the word for Hanukkah is ????, ??nukk?h, or ?????, ??n?kk?h, meaning "dedication." It is also transliterated into English as Chanukah, Hannukah, Hanukah, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Hanuka, Channukah, Hanukka, Hanaka, Haneka, and Hanika.

The question marks above are actually Hebrew characters that just doesn't translate into this page.

Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah

[Az]

the number of n's and k's is insignificant, really.

the 'ha' is pronounced similar to the spanish pronounciation of 'xa', in words such as 'xavier'.

However, it lasted for 8. Seems a bit of a wierd reason, but I guess they may have intended to make it a celebration of independence and used the "miracle" as a way of making people remember (pretty crappy miracle too).

Probably means there was a much stronger nationalistic vibe to it, that had to be erased if you're planning to celebrate a holiday while being a minority in a foreign country.