Editing Hanukkah (section)

=== ''Maoz Tzur'' ===
{{Main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
In the Ashkenazi tradition, each night after the lighting of the candles, the hymn [[Ma'oz Tzur]] is sung. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], praising God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], the [[Hasmonean]] victory) and expressing a longing for the days when Judea will finally triumph over [[Ancient Rome|Rome]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ou.org/holidays/chanukah/maoz_tzur_translation_etc/ |title=Maoz Tzur: Translation & Explanation – Jewish Holidays|date=29 June 2006|publisher=Orthodox Union|access-date=6 October 2018}}</ref>

The song was composed in the thirteenth century by a poet only known through the acrostic found in the first letters of the original five stanzas of the song: Mordechai. The familiar tune is most probably a derivation of a German Protestant church hymn or a popular folk song.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/maoz-tzur-rock-of-ages/ |title=Maoz Tzur: Rock of Ages|work=My Jewish Learning |access-date=6 October 2018}}</ref>