Don't Forget to Bring These Fun Hanukkah Facts to Your Holiday Dinner Table

Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century B.C., according to History.com. Legend says that when a leader outlawed Judaism back then, a group of followers revolted. It became known as the Maccabean Revolt.

Remember the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem? That's where the holiday gets its name. In Hebrew, Hanukkah means "dedication."

They needed to burn a candelabra for eight days in order to rededicate their temple. According to NPR, they only had enough oil to burn the candle for one night. But miraculously, the oil lasted long enough for them to reclaim the temple.

On each night of the holiday, one additional candle (starting from the right side) is lit from the center "Shamash" candle, according to Chabad. In total, 44 candles are lit throughout Hanukkah, but most Hanukkah candle packages for your menorah will come with eight.

Because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, Hanukkah isn't on the same date every year. The celebration always begins on the 25th of Kislev, meaning it typically falls in November or December of the Gregorian calendar — the same season as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Instead, children often receive gelt (a.k.a. money) from the adults, as Live Science says. Chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil, used in the traditional Jewish game of dreidel, are called gelt. Some families may choose to give gifts to family, although it's a relatively modern concept.

RELATED: 35 Meaningful Hanukkah Gifts Perfect for the Kids and Adults in Your Life

Dreidels are four-sided spinning tops with a Hebrew letter printed on each side representing the phrase "A Great Miracle Happened There," My Jewish Learning says. Each player spins the dreidel — then depending on the letter it falls on, they either win or lose varied amounts of gelt.

It's all because the holiday celebrates oil. The most popular recipes include latkes (fried potato pancakes), according to My Jewish Learning. Flavors can range from sweet to salty, and they're often served with applesauce or sour cream.

One of the most popular dishes are homemade donuts called sufganiyot. Traditionally they're filled with jelly, though some creative recipes add chocolate or caramel.

Get the Sufganiyot (Jelly Donuts) recipe.

RELATED: 15 Festive and Delicious Hanukkah Desserts

The latter is the most popular variation nowadays. According to Dictionary.com, there are multiple ways of spelling it because of transliteration, which is when you translate a language that uses different characters or symbols into another language. The name of the Jewish holiday comes from Hebrew, so the spelling doesn’t have an exact equivalent in English.

The Maccabean Revolt occurred after the Torah was written, so neither Hanukkah nor the events that led to it are in the sacred book, according to History.com. Other Jewish holidays like Passover and Rosh Hashanah typically hold more significance.

In 1993, Jeff Hoffman brought a travel-size menorah and spun a dreidel while on the Space Shuttle Endeavour to restore the Hubble Space Telescope. His mini Hanukkah celebration was broadcast over satellite for people back on Earth to see.

It's also 30 feet tall, and you need a cherry picker to get to the top!