Picture this: students sitting at a bar, playing with dreidels, looking at mini menorahs and eating gelts and latkes while hip-hop songs blare out of speakers.

This was the scene last night at the second annual Hanukkah Bash at the Candy Bar and Lounge, 129 S. Pugh St., sponsored by Penn State Hillel.

Lily Matusiak (junior-history and international politics) said Hanukkah is a low-key holiday compared to many of the other Jewish holidays. Matusiak said Jews are not expected to go to the temple continuously, and it is more about fun and parties.

"It is celebrating Judaism in a social way," she said.

Hanukkah is a remembrance holiday created as a result of a battle between Jewish people and Greeks during ancient times. The Jewish people were under the oppression of the Greeks, but after three years of fighting, the Jews won independence. However, many of their temples were destroyed. Only one day's worth of oil was found afterwards, used to light the temple candle, but the light burned for eight days.

The menorah, a candlestand with eight candles, is used for the remembrance of the eight days, which is why Hanukkah is called "the festival of lights."

"It's one holiday that isn't really religious but has religious roots," Vicki Korchagin (sophomore-economics) said.

Hillel President Laura Taylor said this holiday is not in the Torah, the Jewish holy text, but is still important because it stresses spending time with family and remembering the ancient battle.

Since Hanukkah does not begin until Dec. 24 this year, the students couldn't say the prayers or light the candles like last year, when this holiday did occur during the semester, Taylor said.

Jeremy Weisblatt (sophomore-classics and ancient Mediterranean studies) said the meaning of Hanukkah changes as one grows older. Weisblatt said that when someone is a child, the holiday is about presents, but eventually the person sees it as a fight for freedom and the remembrance of the Jews' victory. He said that even though the history is meant to be taken seriously, the holiday should be celebrated in a fun way.

"It's not just the spinning of the dreidel, but dancing and partying with family and friends," Weisblatt added.

However, Taylor said in America, Hanukkah is more commercialized than in any other place in the world.

Efrem Reis (senior-Jewish studies) said Hanukkah is a minor holiday, but it has been given more meaning and hype in recent years, mainly because of consumerism and profit-making reasons.

"Hanukkah has become very Americanized," Reis said.

When it comes down to it, the true meaning of Hanukkah, including the food, the celebration of lights and the victory over the Greeks, is what's most important during this holiday, Hillel program co-director Yifat Yakov-Shemmer said.

"It is about reviving, because they were able to revive the spirit and the religion," Yakov-Shemmer said.