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NEW YORK (PIX11) --- Hannukah, the Jewish festival of lights, starts Thursday but the holiday is sometimes spelled Chanukah. What's the difference?
The main reason for the different spellings is that the Hebrew word for the holiday uses sounds not found in the Latin alphabet that is used in English, according to Britannica. In Hebrew, the holiday starts with the Hebrew letter "Chet", which does not have a transliteration, according to the article.
The word spelled with the CH means rededication about the Holy Temple in Jerusalem being reclaimed from the Greeks in the second century, according to Rabbi Mark Wildes of the Manhattan Jewish Experience.
The holiday with H began roughly in the 18th century and is more commonly used today, particularly by young people, according to Wildes and Britannica.
"I think it's easier for people to pronounce Hannukah with the H," Wildes said.
The holiday has more than 20 different spellings but Hannukah and Chanuka are the most widely used, according to Oxford Dictionary.
The lighting of the eight candles on the menorah represents the eight days the flames burned at the Holy Temple. Hannukah is celebrated with prayer, food, and songs.
"Each day is a miracle," Wildes said
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