It's the Most Word-ful Time of the Year!: It's Lit: Hanukkah Words, December 14–December 22

Ancient comes from the Latin prefix ante-, meaning "before," as in antechamber or antebellum. It's traditionally used to refer to the period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE.

Hanukkah translates as dedication; the holiday commemorates the retaking of Jerusalem and the rededication of the Temple by Maccabean Jews in 165 BCE. Sacred, purified oil was needed to keep the Temple menorah lit, but there was only enough for one day. Miraculously, it lasted eight days, until more oil could be obtained, and the holiday was declared to celebrate this event.

Potato pancakes are a traditional Hanukkah food. Similar to hash browns, they're best when fried in duck, goose, or chicken fat. Eating fried food acknowledges the story behind the holiday: lamp oil that miraculously lasted eight days. Latke is a Yiddish word, derived from the Russian latka, meaning pastry or Ukrainian oladka, "fritter."

Each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, another candle is added to the menorah and lit. The shamash, or "attendant", occupies the center spot and is used to light the other candles.

Taper is a cool word for a candle, and may originate in the Egyptian word papyrus, where we also get paper. Papyrus is made from pounding the pith of a marsh plant into sheets; the Egyptians began using it around 6,000 years ago for writing and drawing, and also as wicks for lamps.

According to the Bible, the original Temple in Jerusalem was built by king Solomon. It was damaged in several wars over the following centuries, and totally destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Second Temple was completed on the same spot in 515 BCE and ultimately destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. After the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, the Dome of The Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque were built on the Temple Mount.