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As you might guess, this is a translation issue. The Rabbi Mark S. Diamond explains there is no definitive way of translating the Hebrew characters for "dedication" into English. The Hebrew word for the Festival of Lights consists of five Hebrew characters opening with the consonant "het" (chet). This letter isn't the same as the English letter "h" (as in Hoboken), nor is it the same is as "ch" (as in Chernobyl). If you've ever heard Hebrew spoken, you'll know that the language is rich with all manner of guttural sounds that can only be approximated in English through the creative
use of consonants. Though there is no direct translation, the festival certainly has a direct origin. It celebrates the victory in 165 B.C. of the Maccabees, a group of Jewish rebels, over the reigning Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes. The Maccabees, which means "Hammers," re-took or re-"dedicated" the famed Temple at Jerusalem from the Syrian king. Oil for the dedication, which was only enough for one day, miraculously lasted eight, hence the length of the festival.
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