1 Maccabees 4:36-37, 52-59
Chapter 4
Purification of the Temple
Judas and his brothers said: “Our enemies are defeated, so let us go up and purify the Holy Place and consecrate it again.”And all the army assembled and went up to Mount Zion.
On the twenty-fifth day of the month of Kislev, in one hundred and forty-eight (in B.C.),
arose at dawn and offered the sacrifice prescribed by the law on the new altar of holocausts they had built.
It was precisely at that same time and date that the pagans had profaned it before, but now they consecrated it with songs accompanied by zithers, harps, and cymbals.
All the people fell prostrate and blessed Heaven that had given them happiness and success.
They celebrated the consecration of the altar for eight days, joyfully offering holocausts and celebrating sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise.
The front of the temple was adorned with crowns of gold and shields, and the gates and the rooms had been restored and fitted with doors.
There was no end to the celebration among the people, so the pagans’ profanation of the temple was forgotten.
Finally, Judas, his brothers, and the whole assembly of Israel agreed to celebrate the anniversary of the consecration of the altar annually for eight days, from the twenty-fifth of the month of Kislev, in high festivity.
Commentaries
Purification of the Temple.
With the enemy defeated and expelled from the Holy City, all efforts focus on purifying, reconstructing, and consecrating the Temple. The Feast of Dedication was celebrated on December 25, 164 B.C., exactly three years after the desecration, with an eight-day ceremony. This feast, established for annual celebration, is known by several names: Dedication – “Hanukkah” – the most commonly used; Purification or Feast of Lights – a light is lit each day.