German Candelabrum Hanukkah Lamp Foil Card

This card shows a silver Hanukkah candelabrum lamp, similar to the ones created by German silversmiths in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Hanukkah lamps are reminders of a miracle that took place hundreds of years ago. The holiday of Hanukkah celebrates the Jewish fight for independence from Syrian- Greek rule in ancient Israel. When the Jewish army regained control of the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 BCE, they found one last unopened flask of olive oil. This was only enough to light the menorah, the lamp in the Temple, for one day. Instead, Jewish tradition tells us that its flames stayed lit for eight days, the time it took to bring more oil to Jerusalem. People used to light Hanukkah lamps outside, near a public entrance. As Jews built communities across the world, they created new Hanukkah traditions. They lit the lamps inside their homes, near doorways or windows. Candelabrum Hanukkah lamps are lit inside, set before a window for all to see.