Jews across the world are about to celebrate Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. Few know that Christians also claim the story as part of their tradition.
Adherents of both faiths agree on the basics. About a century and a half after Alexander the Great’s conquests, Israel was ruled by the Seleucid dynasty, established by one of Alexander’s successors. The Seleucid king, Antiochus IV, aggressively persecuted Jews and erected a pagan altar in the middle of the Temple in Jerusalem. A band of Jewish fighters led by Judas Maccabeus mounted a resistance to Antiochus’ forces, and the Maccabees eventually recaptured the Jerusalem Temple.
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