Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, Starts Tuesday Evening

The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after a successful battle won by Judah Maccabee against the Greek and Syrian armies around 165 B.C.

During the time of rededication, miraculously, a single day's supply of oil burned for eight days. Today, the Hanukkah menorah has nine branches and commemorates that event as each of the eight candles are lit every day of the holiday and the ninth candle, called the shamash is used to light each of them.

While Hanukkah is already a holiday that brings Jewish families together for prayer, music, singing, games, gift-giving and traditional foods, a Stanford University survey found that American Jews observe it more adamently than in Israel to preserve the traditions and significance of Hanukkah.

Spinning the dreidel and eating fried foods like latkes, or potato pancakes, and jelly-filled donuts are traditional family and community activities in addition to lighting the menorah.  has become more commonplace too.

The dreidel, a top, has four sides with Hebrew letters that together mean, "a great miracle happened there."

Translating the name of the holiday into English has been a challenge because the beginning guttural sound is impossible to spell. Some go with CH, for Chanukah; others with the H for Hanukkah. The actual sound is more like a raspy H pronounced from the back of the throat.

Locally, there is only one big celebration.

• Temple Beth El in Aptos  at 3055 Porter Gulch Rd. has a Menorah lighting ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to mark the first night of the holiday. Sing your favorite Hanukkah songs, enjoy sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts), Israeli dancing, dreidel and more. They ask participants to bring their own menorah to light with the temple's three rabbis.

• Santa Cruz's Chabbad by the Sea has no events scheduled for Hanukkah but has an online store selling Jewish-oriented gifts. The group had a big party for the holiday last year at UCSC, but with it falling so late this year in 2011, students are gone.

If you feel like a longer drive, there are these events:

• The Light it Up young adults party at the Hillel at Stanford hopes to gather hundreds of Bay Area young adults on Saturday, Dec. 17 for the lighting of the menorah, spinning the dreidel, drinking, eating and dancing. First 150 guests through the door receive complementary OFJCC gym guest passes! Cash bar. Price $10.

• The Festival of Lights Community Hanukkah Party at the  in Palo Alto is open to everyone. It takes place on Dec. 21 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.  www.​paloaltojcc.​org. Here, families will experience the traditional dreidel games, jelly donuts, singing, praying, and of course, candle-lighting. There is no charge for this event.

• Palo Alto's Jewish Study Network invites the community to a Hanukkah Party that includes a class on Hanukkah and afterward with jelly donuts, live music and Chinese food. Dec. 24 starting at 8 p.m. Adults $10, children under 10, $8.