Hanukkah

Yes, because you can light additional candles on Rosh Hashanah from an existing flame.

No, they light it up one at a time

Proverbs 20:27 gives us a clue: The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly. Lighting a candle supposedly has some spiritual affect on the soul of person; especially the soul of a deceased for whom the candle is being lit. Therefor Jews light candles on the anniversary of death (Yahrzeit) of a beloved or a relative. Candles are also used at other times: * To light the Shabbat candles before sunset on Friday afternoons. This is to ensure that there's a festive atmosphere in the home. The woman of the house lights two or more Shabbat candles. * Same for the eve of Jewish Festivals. * Multiple candles woven together into a torch are lit on Saturday evening during the ceremony marking the end of Shabbat (Havdala). This commemorates Adam discovering fire on Saturday night. * To light the Hanukkah candles during the 8 days of the Hanukkah festival. * A candle is used to help the search for bread (and crumbs) on the night before Passover.* At Jewish ceremonies like circumcisions and weddings to create a festive atmosphere. Note that candle refers to the flame and the candle is often a wick lit with oil or even an electric light, especially in situations when flames are unsafe.

Hanukkah always starts on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev, and lasts for eight days. The Hebrew calendar does not line up with the western calendar because it has a completely different leap year system that can shift holidays each year by to 11-28 days.

Here are the coinciding secular dates for the upcoming years. The candle lightings begin on the evening BEFORE the first date:

2011: December 20-28

2012: December 8-16

2013: November 27-December 5

2014: December 16-24

2015: December 6-14

December 15-22, 1941

It is called the Shamash. It is used to light all of the other candles on the Menorah or Chanukiah.

Passover and Hanukkah are two entirely different holidays.

All of those are Jewish festivals.

Yes.

See related links. Billy Graham provides a completely nonsensical and inaccurate depiction of Hanukkah. Not only does have his facts and dates wrong, but he applies Christian bias to an otherwise historical event.

There are no traditional colors for Hanukkah. Because of Influence by Christmas (namely the fact the Christmas has traditional colors), Jewish people took the colors of the Israeli Flag (blue and white) and made them Hanukkah colors. But this practice is only about 40 years old.

Hanukkah was (and still is) an 8 day holiday. So in 1967, it spanned all the days of the week plus an extra day.

The Temple light consisted of oil lamps.
The Ancient temple had an oil candelabra (Exodus ch.25) that was lit to represent God's eternal presence. The flames went out during the Maccabean War, and had to be re-lit after the war.

Candles on a menorah are never to be blown out, we're required to let them burn down completely. If for some reason one has to blow out the candles, they cannot be re-used, at least not for ritual purpose and not in a menorah.

Answer:
The above answer is completely mistaken. The candles may be blown out after they've been lit for one-half hour. And their remainder may be lit the following night if they're big enough to burn for at least one-half hour. (Source: Code of Jewish Law.)

Hanukkah (sometimes spelled Chanukah) is the only word for Hanukkah.

In English, it is also sometimes called the Festival of Lights.

The first candle was lit on the side closest to the right of the menorah.

There are the right number of candles in every box of Hanukkah candles: 44. Hanukkah is celebrated for 8 nights, and candles are lit each night. The first night, 2 candles are lit. then 3 the next night and so on until all nine candles are lit.

2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9 = 44'

The reason there is one extra candle per day is that this candle is called the "helper" candle and is used to light the others.

To commemorate the oil lamps of the Temple's menorah, in which the miracle occurred.

The Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) under Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century BCE), at the instigation of the Hellenizers, had forbidden various Torah-practices such as Sabbath-observance and circumcision, rededicated the Temple to a Greek idol, and pressed the Jews to offer up sacrifices to the idol. One of the leading elder Jewish sages called upon the people to keep observing the Torah anyway; and if necessary, to use force in resisting the decrees. When a Hellenized Jew offered a sacrifice to the Greek idols in a nearby village, the sage killed him as well as the Greek overseer. This brought a violent reaction from the Greeks; and the loyal Jews, led by the Hasmonean family, were forced to retreat from their towns and strike out at the Greeks in an attempt to oust them from the Holy Land and to enable the people to once again observe the Torah. The Torah-Jews were heavily outnumbered by the attacking Greek armies, but God gave them miraculous victories again and again. After three years of struggle, the Greek armies retreated from Jerusalem, and the Hasmoneans (also called Maccabees) entered the Holy Temple which the Greeks had defiled, reconsecrated it to God, and began the Temple service once more. Among other things, they wanted to relight the olive oil candelabrum (Exodus ch. 25), but could only find one day's supply of undefiled oil - and it would take eight days to make and bring some more.

Miraculously, the menorah stayed lit for eight days (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), allowing enough time for new oil to be prepared and brought. The significance of the miracle is that it demonstrated that God's presence was still there. The Torah-community was overjoyed, because God's presence meant everything to them.

This is what Hanukkah represents: the closeness to God; and the avoidance of Hellenization (assimilation).

The Torah Sages instituted the festival of Hanukkah at that time (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), to publicize the miracle (Rashi commentary, ibid). This is why we light our Hanukkah-menorahs.

(The Hanukkah-menorah, or hanukkiyah, is a special form of the original seven-branched menorah. Our Hanukkah-menorahs have eight spaces for oil, or candles, to mark each of the eight days for which the oil lasted and a ninth to hold the shamash, a candle used to light the others.)

The Al-Hanisim prayer which we recite during Hanukkah centers around the Hasmoneans' victory and rededication of the Temple, while the candle-lighting commemorates the miracle of the oil.

Though the military victory is prominently mentioned in the prayers, it wouldn't have been celebrated if not for the miracle of the oil. It should also be noted that the main goal for which the Maccabees fought was not political independence. They fought to enable the people to observe the Torah's commandments; as we say in the Al Hanisim prayer: "The Greeks sought to cause us to forget Your Torah and leave Your statutes."

Hanukkah is the real name for Hanukkah. It can also be spelled Chanukah or חנוכה

Though Hanukkah is actually more of a historical remembrance than a major Jewish holiday, its close proximity to the Christian holiday of Christmas has resulted in the modern practice of Hanukkah gift giving. In reality, Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday that is traditionally not associated with gift giving. And while Jews don't see Hanukkah as the "Jewish Christmas," they recognize that many non-Jew friends, neighbors, and co-workers want to include them in the holiday festivities through gift-giving. If you are one of the Christmas revelers who want to include your Jewish compatriots in the holiday festivities, there are certain rules to consider when selecting a Hanukkah gift. Keep it Kosher Not all Jews follow a Kosher diet, but you should at least respect the Kosher tradition. Avoid food gifts that are pork-based, such as hams or sausages. Don't give items containing shellfish like shrimp or lobster, and make sure all food items in a gift basket are certified Kosher. Don't give Christmas-themed gifts Yes, those reindeer figurines are cute and sure, the red and green snowflake pajamas are on sale, but those are Christmas motifs. Avoid Christmas-themed gifts like fruitcake, nativity sets, poinsettias, or Santa Claus designs, and remember that the colors of Hanukkah are blue and white (red and green just screams Christmas). And don't wrap the gift in Christmas wrapping paper or give a Christmas card. Stick with general patterns or pick up a roll of Hanukkah themed wrapping paper. Keep it traditional If you're unsure of what kind of gift to give, lean toward the traditional aspect of the season. Dreidels or chocolate coins known as Hanukkah gelt are great for children, while menorah candles or jelly-filled doughnuts are good choices for adults. Or think about what kind of gift you would give the person if it was his or her birthday. Gift certificates, books, toys, DVDs, electronic devices, scarves, jewelry, or gift baskets are all appropriate choices. A donation to a non-denominational charity in the recipient's name is also a thoughtful gesture. Give during Hanukkah Hanukkah gifts should be given during one of the eight nights of Hanukkah. Giving a Hanukkah present on Christmas Eve turns it into a Christmas present. Don't over think it Giving a Hanukkah gift is not a way to bridge the divide between faiths but is meant to demonstrate affection for the recipient. Choose a meaningful gift that comes from the heart. It's just that simple.

Nes gadol haya sham (a great miracle happened there)

There's really only one Jewish holiday during which it's customary to dress in costume,
and Chanukah isn't it.

Since Chanukah occurs in the early Winter, the typical clothing worn at that time tends to be
the warm kind, at least in most Jewish communities in the northern Hemisphere.

A dreidal is a little toy top that is spun in a game played on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. It has four sides, each with a letter imprinted on it, symbolizing a word from the following statement (translated into English from the Hebrew):

"A big miracle happened there," (when outside of Israel). "A big miracle happened here," (when inside of Israel).

To play, you need the dreidal and some kind of pieces for counting - straws, pennies, nuts, etc. The top is spun and each letter has a value, based on which you either give your straws or take. It's a tradition for kids to play on Hanukkah and get 'gelt' (small money or a prize) after winning.