On the evening of Sunday, Dec. 18, Jews across the globe will mark Hanukkah by lighting candles. triumph of a ragtag group of Judean rebels known as the Maccabees over the Syrian-Greek army of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. To mark the restoration of their nation’s independence, the Maccabees rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem, using a small jug of sacred oil to light the seven-branched candelabrum known as the menorah. Miraculously, the oil kept burning for eight days. For American Jews, the holiday and the candle-lighting ritual also serve to illuminate their role in the nation’s history.

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