IXL | Hanukkah | 3rd grade social studies

Read the passage about Hanukkah.

a model of a large and very old temple. It is made out of stone and has walls around it.

This is a model of what the Temple may have looked like.

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday. During Hanukkah, Jewish people remember a story from long ago. Around 2,000 years ago, many Jewish people lived in a place called Judea. The ruler of Judea was a king named Antiochus. He was not Jewish, and he wanted Jewish people to be more like Greek people. So, Antiochus tried to force Jewish people to pray to Greek gods.

Antiochus took over the Jewish Temple. The Temple was a special place where Jewish people gathered to worship and pray. Antiochus did many things in the Temple that Jewish people did not like. For example, he put a statue of the Greek god Zeus inside the Temple. He also brought pigs into the Temple. Many Jewish people felt these things made the Temple unclean. A group of Jewish people called the Maccabees decided to fight back against Antiochus. The Maccabees won and took back the Temple from him

The Maccabees wanted to light a special candle in the Temple. The candle was never supposed to go out. But it needed oil to burn, and there was only enough for one night. Somehow, the oil lasted for eight days! That gave the Maccabees time to get more oil. People said it was a miracle. A miracle is an amazing thing that cannot be easily explained. Many people think that God makes miracles happen.

What is Hanukkah?

a Christian holiday

a Hindu holiday

a Jewish holiday

a Muslim holiday

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