9" tall
Includes songbook and music

Antiochus, who was a Greek and also the king of Syria, invaded and conquered Judea, the home of the Jews. The Jews refused to worship the Greek Gods and as a result the Greek soldiers desecrated the Jewish temple including the sacred altar menorah. Mattathias and his five sons were determined to fight the Greeks and did so for many years. When he died one of the sons, Judah the Maccabee, then became the leader. He and his soldiers fought the Greeks for two years and finally recaptured Jerusalem. Judah the Maccabee celebrated his victory by reopening the temple. However, he found only enough oil to light the menorah for one day. Miraculously, the menorah stayed lighted for eight days and grew brighter with each passing day. In honor of that event over two thousand years ago Hanukkah is celebrated every year by lighting consecutive candles in a menorah at sundown for eight nights. The menorah has nine branches one of which, the Shamash or servant light, is used to light the other candles.