Hanukkah is the eight-day Festival of Lights, commemorating the victory of Judah Maccabee's insurgents over the Syrian army in 165 BCE. After the Jerusalem Temple had been cleansed of pagan worship and the altar had been rededicated, only one vessel containing the ritual oil used to light the tabernacle was found. According to tradition, this ritual oil was sufficient, by a miracle, for eight days, until a new batch was produced (M. Siemieński, Księga świąt i obyczajów żydowskich, Warsaw 1993, pp. 73–74).
During Hanukkah, one more candle is lit each day in an eight-branched candelabrum called a hanukkiah, which is placed in the windows or in front of the doors of Jewish homes. The candles are lit by the eldest male in the family. During the holiday, one should not work or even study Torah. Fasting is also forbidden (A. Unterman, Żydzi. Wiara i życie, Lodz 1989, pp. 223-225).
The Hanukkah lamp from the Education and Museum Centre "Świętokrzyski Sztetl" collection has eight star-shaped, elongated bowls attached to a stem resembling a turned baluster. A round bowl is suspended from a hook on the underside of the eight-pointed star, adorned with a plant motif in the centre. The stem of the hook is divided by a small plate in the middle and features a pearl-like design.
A plant ornament is visible on the bowl body. The top edge is upturned. The stem of the lamp, extending upwards, is formed by four flattened spherical knops and a bowl with an upturned edge. The body of the bowl is smooth, and the central zone shows four round openings that are placed symmetrically. The stem is suspended on a horseshoe-shaped movable suspension, decorated with hooks on the side. The suspended bowl has a deformed, chipped top edge.