Why did the Maccabees celebrate the Temple’s rededication for eight days?

The eight-day duration of the Temple’s rededication by the Maccabees is explained through two primary historical and traditional perspectives:

• The Miracle of the Oil: According to the Babylonian Talmud, when Judas Maccabeus reclaimed the Temple of Jerusalem, he found only enough consecrated oil to light the lamp for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days until a new supply could be prepared, establishing the eight-day length of the festival.12
• A Belated Sukkot: Evidence from II Maccabees suggests the celebration may have originated as a delayed observance of Sukkot and its concluding day, Shemini Atzeret. Because the Temple had been desecrated, the Maccabees were unable to observe this eight-day Pilgrim Festival at its proper time; the rededication allowed them to finally perform these rituals.34

While the Talmudic miracle became the predominant explanation in later Judaism, the initial historical accounts in the Books of the Maccabees emphasize the restoration of Jewish practice and the rededication of the altar.14