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Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, commemorates the rededication of the Temple by the Maccabees after their victory over the ancient Assyrians. The holiday starts Tuesday evening.

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The first flames of a a giant Hanukkah Menorah in front of a Christmas tree at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014 burn at the launch of the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights, named Hanukkah. The lights were inflamed by German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere and Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal.Michael Sohn/The Associated Press

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Jewish men gather to mark the start of Judaism's festival of light, Hanukkah in central Moscow on December 16, 2014. The annual "Festival of Lights" marks the rebellion of Maccabee Jews against the Greeks in 165 BC, which some believers say included a number of miracles pointing to divine providence.DMITRY SEREBRYAKOV/AFP / Getty Images

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Members of Hungary's Jewish community gather to celebrate Hanukkah and to light the first candle on the menorah in downtown Budapest December 16, 2014.LASZLO BALOGH/Reuters

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U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the annual lighting of the National Hanukkah Menorah on the Ellipse in Washington December 16, 2014.JOSHUA ROBERTS/Reuters

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Members of Hungary's Jewish community gather to celebrate Hanukkah and to light the first candle on the menorah in downtown Budapest December 16, 2014.LASZLO BALOGH/Reuters

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The first lamp of a large scale menorah lights in front of the Brandenburg Gate on December 16, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. It is the first day in the celebration of Hanukkah. Berlin is home to a growing Jewish population, many of whom are immigrants from the former Soviet Union, after the local Jewish community was devastated by the Holocaust before and during World War II.Carsten Koall/Getty Images

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Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen participate in a candle lighting ceremony to mark the start of Hanukkah in Montreal, Quebec December 16, 2014.CHRISTINNE MUSCHI/Reuters

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Poland's chief rabbi Michael Schudrich, left, lights the first candle celebrating the beginning of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, on Grzybowski square in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.Alik Keplicz/The Associated Press

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The first lamp of a large scale menorah in front of the Brandenburg Gate lights after it was lights by Rabbis Yehuda Teichtal and German Interior Minist Thomas de Maiziere on December 16, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. It is the first day in the celebration of Hanukkah. Berlin is home to a growing Jewish population, many of whom are immigrants from the former Soviet Union, after the local Jewish community was devastated by the Holocaust before and during World War II.Carsten Koall/Getty Images

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The White House is in the background after the national menorah was lit during a ceremony marking the start of the celebration of Hanukkah, on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.Cliff Owen/The Associated Press

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PINECREST, FL - DECEMBER 16: Arthur Sotloff, the father of slain journalist Steven Sotloff, who was captured in August of 2013 and killed in Syria earlier this year, uses a torch to light the first candle of Hanukkah on the menorah at the Chabad Center of Kendall & Pinecrest on December 16, 2014 in Pinecrest, Florida. The Sotloffs lost their son when he was captured and killed by ISIS while reporting in Syria.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Nearly 100 people gathered for a first night Hanukkah Action to End Police Violence rally on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014 in Durham, N.C.Christine T. Nguyen/The Associated Press

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