Hanukkah, literally "dedication" in Hebrew, commemorates the Maccabean revolt that led to the historical recovery of Jerusalem from the Greek empire and the rededication of the menorah in the Second Temple around 168 BCE. Religious texts later extrapolated on the event in Shabbat 21b of the Talmud, writing of the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days. Oil and fried foods have ever since been inextricably linked to the holiday.
