Judas Maccabæus instituted Hanukkah, which means “dedication,” to commemorate the consecration of the Temple, a ceremony made possible by his victory over the Syrian Greeks in 164 b.c.e. (1 Maccabees 4:36). This winter festival known as “the feast of the dedication” (John 10:22) or “Lights” (Josephus Antiquities xii 7:7), entails eight days of “joy and gladness” commencing on the twenty-fifth of Kislev (i.e., mid-December; 1 Maccabees 4:59). Observant Jews celebrate by kindling lights to memorialize the Hasmonean relighting of the Temple candelabrum (1 Maccabees 4:49, 50).