Hanukkah is the Feast of Lights and celebrates Israel's successful fight for religious freedom. In the year 165 BC., the Jews were under Syrian persecution that was led by Antiochus Epiphanes. Thinking to make a mockery of the Jews religion, Antiochus Epiphanes offered a sow on the altar, thus desecrating the temple. Judas Maccabeaus would take no more. He and his followers, called Maccabees, fought back and succeeded in crushing the Syrian invaders and reestablishing Jewish worship. (This freedom was precious, though short-lived, with the Roman invasion just around the corner.) A miracle is said to have occurred during the re-dedication of the temple. Though the lamps were to remain lit for eight days, there was only enough of the specially prepared oil for one day. Yet the lamps burned on for eight days--the miracle of Hanukkah.The Jewish Holy Days a Short Course for Christians By Frank Eiklor

Hanaukkah celebrates the deliverance of G-d's people
from oppression

The rededication of theTemple's altar and sanctuary occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev,. This is the day that Judah drove the enemy out of the Temlpe in 165 B.C..Eexactly three years to the day from when it was desecrated by Antiochus and his troops, Judah and the people of Israel dedicated the cleansed Temple. This holiday is celebrated for eight days. gifts are exchanged and latkas, (potatoes pancakes) are eaten The ninth candle on the Hanaukkah menorah, called the shammash (servant), is used to light the other eight.

Messiah came to die and to serve.

Like the Hanukkah menorah, Messiah came to be the light for the world. Like shammash candle on the menorah, the Messiah came to serve.

Matthew. 20:28 "came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" .

John 8:12 "Again therefore Yeshua spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12

John 9:4-5 "We must work the works of him who sent Me, as long as it is day: night is coming, when no man can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." John 9:4-5

John 10:22-23 At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Yeshua was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.".

"It was not an accident that Yeshua chose Hanukkah (John 10:22) as the occasion to make one of His most starting claims. He said, "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30). Yeshua was affirming the truth that there is only one G-d, but He exists in a plurality of beings, with Jesus being a member of that plurality. How could He make such a claim? The answer is found in the empty tomb. It is on this point that the appearance of Yeshua at Hanukkah takes on meaning. Antiochus IV claimed to be G-d. So did Yeshua. The difference between the two is that Antiochus IV was and is dead. Yeshua the Messiah, however, is very much alive." Hanukkah: The Festival of Llights by Bruce Scott