Hanukkah Lights and Latkes

NPR has an interesting little story titled, "Hanukkah Lights and Latkes." Although I am not Jewish, I have actually had latke, and found it to be quite tasty. The story includes some info on Hanukkah that I thought might interest you:

"For the record, Hanukkah is a minor holiday in Judaism: It's one of the few Jewish holidays not mentioned in the Bible. But it's a good story. In the 2nd century B.C.E., Judah Maccabee and his brothers defeated Hellenistic-Syrian King Antiochus IV, who was trying to wipe out Judaism. When they chased the enemy out of Jerusalem, the Maccabees found their temple had been desecrated. They had only one small vial of untainted olive oil -- enough, they thought, to burn for only one day. But to their surprise, the oil lasted the eight days -- the time they needed to get more consecrated oil and rededicate the temple. This miracle is celebrated by lighting a candle for each of the eight days of Hanukkah and frying potato pancakes in boiling oil."