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Grimer Girl here. I'm Minyon Fogarty and you can think of me as your friendly guide to the English language.

Writing, history, rules, and cool stuff. Today, we're going to talk about Hanukkah.

Sunday marked the start of the Jewish Festival of Hanukkah, and since it's an eight-day celebration, we are right in the middle of it.

Hanukkah recognizes the rededication of the second temple of Jerusalem in the first century BC.

It had been desecrated by invaders from Syria before they were defeated by Judas Mechabias.

To honor him, the celebration is sometimes called the Feast of the Mechabees.

It's also called the Festival of Lights. That's because it's celebrated by the lighting of candles,

one on each successive day of the holiday. By the eighth day, eight candles are burning.

They're usually held in a menorah, a candle-abra with nine candle holders.

Yes, I said nine. Eight of them hold the main candles, and in ninth holds the shaman, a so-called servant candle,

that's used to light the other eight, very convenient.

Hanukkah is a Hebrew word that means inauguration, dedication, or consecration.

Menora is also a Hebrew word. It literally means lampstand or candlestick.

It shares the same root word as the Arabic manura, which means lighthouse or minaret.

Tortures were often placed high in the minaretts of Islamic fortresses,

making these syndrillical towers, beacons, or lighthouses, shining across the dark North African night.

Now comes the big question. How do you spell Hanukkah?

Sometimes you see it with an H at the beginning, other times with a CH.

Sometimes there's one K in the middle, sometimes two, and sometimes there's an A H at the end,

but sometimes just an A. What is a careful spell or to do?

The short answer is there's no right answer. That's because the word Hanukkah

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