The Maccabees also spelled Machabees (Hebrew: מכבים‎ or Maqabim, מקבים, Machabi (Latin) or Machado from Latin (marculatum) that means “Hammer” (Greek: Μακκαβαῖοι, /makav’εï/) were a Jewish rebel army that took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire.

During the preparation for the pagan the celebration which falls around the winter solstice (21st of December and 25th of December). 

The Greeks tried to force the Jews to sacrifice a pig:

The Greeks were on a mission of trying to force Jews into the act of sacrificing a pig unto their god called Zeus in the outer court of the temple of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

At the refusal of sacrificing a pig in the Jewish temple, the Maccabees waged war against the Greeks.

The incident that brought the celebration of Hanukkah into being:

After the Maccabees had finished winning the battle against the Greeks, they decided to cleans and to rededicate their Temple. 

The act of cleansing has become the celebration of Hanukkah still celebrated until today.

Reestablishing traditional Jewish worship there and installing Jonathan Maccabee as high priest.

The Jewish feast of Hanukkah celebrates the re-dedication of the Temple following Judah Maccabee’s victory over the Seleucids. 


The hebrew word “HanukKah” means to re-dedicate.

According to Rabbinic tradition, the victorious Maccabees could only find a small jug of oil that had remained uncontaminated by virtue of a seal, and although it only contained enough oil to sustain the Menorah for one day, it miraculously lasted for eight days, by which time further oil could be procured.