Before attending any Jewish events, it is important to understand the roots and basis of Hanukkah. Hanukkah dates back to 165 B.C.E., when the traditional Jews overcame the Hellenistic, immoral Syrians. In the mid-300s B.C.E., Alexander the Great and his Grecian cohorts had already overtaken Jerusalem, and the often pedophilic, murderous ways of the Greeks began to permeate parts of Jewish society. Traditional Jews resisted these changes. Over time, various other forces attempted to take over Jerusalem, but by 165 B.C.E., the Jews had endured enough. With an army smaller than those they were fighting against, a group of Jews led by Judah Maccabee won the war against their invaders.