The holiday is meant to commemorate the re-dedication of the Temple after it was defaced by Antiochus IV. You've probably heard of the story of the miracle oil which was only expected to burn for one day, but lasted for eight.
The festival is practiced by lighting the candles of the Menorah on each night of the holiday; one candle on the first night, two on the second and so on. Each night, the candles are expected to burn for at least half an hour after it gets dark. Three blessings are recited just before lighting the candles the first night of Hanukkah, and only the first two of the three blessings for the remaining seven days. A prayer is then said after the candles have been lit.
Potato pancakes, or latkes, are traditionally associated with Hanukkah. It is customary to eat fried food or food cooked in oil (preferably olive oil) to honor the original miracle of the lighting of the Menorah using oil.
Another common association with Hanukkah is the dreidel, which is a four-sided spinning toy with a Hebrew letter imprinted on each side. After lighting the candles of the Menorah, it is customary to follow it up with the dreidel game. Each player starts with 10 or 15 markers, usually chocolate coins, nuts, raisins or other candies and place on in the "pot". Then, a player spins the dreidel and depending on which character it lands on, they carry out the appropriate action.
* Nun - nisht - "not" - nothing happens and the next player spins
* Gimel - gants - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
* Hey - halb - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
* Shin - shtel ayn - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot
Hanukkah gelt, or money, is often given to the children during Hanukkah to help them enjoy the holiday more.
http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah
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