The Maccabees belatedly celebrated Sukkot in the rededicated Temple. According to 2 Maccabees, the Jews had been unable to observe the autumn festival during the conflict, so after recovering and purifying the sanctuary they held an eight-day celebration modeled on Sukkot.
Sukkot normally lasts seven days, followed by the separate festival of Shemini Atzeret. Its Temple observance included pilgrimage, sacrifices, rejoicing, and ritual elements connected with the harvest. The Maccabean celebration in the month of Kislev echoed that pattern while also marking the restoration of the altar and Temple worship.
This account helps explain why Hanukkah lasts eight days, although later Jewish tradition emphasized the miracle of oil as the holiday’s central explanation. The books of Maccabees instead foreground the military victory, the Temple’s rededication, and the delayed Sukkot-like festivities. Sukkot should not be confused with Passover or Shavuot, the other two biblical pilgrimage festivals.