More and more Spanish cities are celebrating the festival of Hanukkah

The festival of Lights, Hanukkah, begins on Sunday 18 December with the rising of the first star. We have ahead of us a week of celebration and remembrance of the miracle that took place in the Temple of Jerusalem more than 2,200 years ago when the Maccabees rebelled against the Greek occupation forces.

Every year more and more Spanish cities join in this celebration in their streets.

The first city was Ceuta, which lit the candles on Wednesday 14 December. It will be followed by Palma de Mallorca and Toledo on the 18th, Melilla, Segovia, Alicante and Torremolinos on the 20th, Madrid on the 21st and Oviedo on the 22nd.

The miracle of Chanukah was that once the Greek invaders had been expelled, the Maccabees used a very small amount of oil to purify the Temple, which was enough to keep the candelabra lit for eight days.

Therefore, for eight days a candle is lit, one candle each day, with a special candelabra called Chanukiah, which has nine branches. During the lighting, the blessings of thanksgiving are recited.

Chanukah is a festival of light and joy. Gifts are exchanged and typical sweets such as sufganiot, fried doughnuts with filling, are eaten. The typical toy is the sebibon, a type of spinning top that is given to the youngest children and which recalls the miracle of the Temple with a legend.

Hanukkah also reminds us of the winter solstice, when light begins to overcome darkness.