What is Chanukah/Hannukkah?

To wish someone a Happy Hanukkah, say “Hanukkah Sameach!” (Happy Hanukkah) or simply “Chag Sameach!” (Happy Holiday). Or if you want to show off your Hebrew skills, say “Chag Urim Sameach!” 

 

Is Chanukah and Hanukkah the same thing?

In Hebrew, the language from which the Jewish festival originates, the word for Hanukkah is not easily transliterated into English. This accounts for why there are so many spelling variants. But Hanukkah and Chanukah are the two versions that are most widely used and accepted. 
It is also known as the Festival of Lights (Hebrew: חַג הַאוּרִים‬, ḥag ha'urim).

The eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt.

 Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, called a menorah (or hanukkiah). One branch is typically placed above or below the others and its candle is used to light the other eight candles. This unique candle is called the shamash (Hebrew: שַׁמָּשׁ‎, "attendant"). Each night, one additional candle is lit by the shamash until all eight candles are lit together on the final night of the festival. Other Hanukkah festivities include playing the game of dreidel and eating oil-based foods, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (Jelly Doughnuts), and dairy foods.

 King James Bible 1611, John 10:

22 ¶ And it was at Hierusalem the feast of the dedication, & it was winter.

23 And Iesus walked in the temple in Solomons porch.

The actual miracle is recorded in the Talmud, even though we can see in John 10 that Yeshuah participated in this feast.

The holiday celebrates a miracle that occurred during the rededication of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed in a battle around 200 BC. The Maccabees, or Jews, were fighting against the Hellenist army, the ruling Greek-Syrian regime, which sought to institute a single religion in the empire. Against all odds, the Maccabees of Jews won, but the win isn’t what’s considered miraculous, it’s what happened after the battle. There was only enough olive oil left to keep the temple lamps lit for a day, but they remained lit for eight nights in a row without interuption.  So we celebrate the abundance of the Father's miracles of mercy, abundance, provision, and that he sustains us even when there is nothing left. 

 

Credit to:  https://qz.com/842028/the-jewish-festival-of-lights-is-an-ancient-celebration-of-abundance-mindset/

And Wikipedia.