In 200 B.C.E., Israel, which was then Judea, was controlled by the Seleucid Empire (one of the successors to Alexander the Great). The confrontation between Jews and Greek culture was a complicated one. Jews found much to admire in Greek philosophy, the Greek language and literature. In fact, so attractive were Greek ways that a rift opened between Hellenizing Jews, who adopted Greek styles of dress, exercise (nude), and eating; and traditional Jews who clung to Biblical teaching and abhorred Greek polytheism, sexual license, and love of pleasure. It might have remained a simmering civil conflict. But in 167 B.C.E., King Antiochus IV erected a statue of Zeus in the Temple in Jerusalem and outlawed a number of Jewish practices including observing the Sabbath. That sparked a rebellion. The Maccabees, a small band of zealous Jews, took up the sword against the Seleucids and also against their Hellenizing brothers (though the latter is less often mentioned). The Maccabees' victory against a numerically superior foe was unexpected. They cleansed and rededicated the Temple and relit the lamp that hung before the altar. It had only enough oil to burn for one night. But as the story goes, it miraculously burned for eight -- long enough to press and prepare more oil.
In honor of that oil Jews have adopted the custom of eating fried foods on this holiday -- doughnuts and potato pancakes (latkes). Or to put it another way -- my son David's idea of the perfect meal. Actually, it's a rare person who can resist a hot latke smothered in applesauce. When you combine that with the dancing flames of colorful candles, the presents waiting to be unwrapped, the familiar tunes, and the promise of seven more nights, you've got a keeper. Of course it isn't Christmas. But it's a great holiday in its own right.