Hanukkah is above all a religious war there have been others since then, but this one was the first. Everything revolves around light and darkness. The little curse of holy oil that was use to rekindle the lamp stand of the Temple was hidden and hard to find. The challenge our ancestors faced was to reveal the light. We relive this need and this lesson every year on Ḥanukkah, by lighting an additional light each evening for the eight days of the holiday.
From The Seven Lights, page 342