miracle at the Temple in Jerusalem. This eight day holiday is accompanied with gift-giving, as many gentiles are aware, but people also eat traditional foods during Hanukkah, and light candles on a special candelabra called a hanukiah each evening to celebrate. While many non-Jews know this holiday as a primary Jewish holiday, it is in fact not traditionally considered to be one of the most important. Its importance may have been raised simply because of the proximity to a very important holiday in the Christian religion — Christmas.

One month before Passover, also known as Pesach, people celebrate Purim, a festive holiday based on the story of Esther. Children dress up in costumes and act out Biblical stories in some Jewish communities on this holiday, and everyone celebrates withparties and food. Over the eight-day festival of Pesach, people remember the Exodus from Egypt. This is one of the Jewish holidays which coincides with holidays in other religions, as Easter usually falls on the same dates.

Some Jewish communities also observe Yom Ha-Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance day, in late April or early May. The next major Jewish holiday is Shavu'ot, which commemorates the gift of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Jewish families also celebrate a major holiday every Friday night and Saturday, when they observe Shabbat.

The changeable dates of these days can be confusing for outsiders. Holidays move around because they are not linked with the Gregorian calendar used by most of the world, but rather with the Hebrew calendar. Dates on the Hebrew calendar are calculated slightly differently,