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The “inauguration”: this feast commemorates the re-consecration of the sanctuary of Jerusalem, after the city was liberated from the forces of Antiochus IV (2nd century before the Common Era). Hanukkah falls during the month of Kislev (in late November or December) and lasts eight days, in memory of the eight days during which the candelabrum in the temple, the menorah, miraculously stayed lit despite the fact that following the pillaging there was no oil left to burn.