CASLEU (Heb. Kislevu). — Name of the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, beginning with Nisan (= second half of November and first half of December). The term, like the others of the Hebrew calendar in the post-exilic period, derives from the Babylonian system, appears in the Bible only in post-exilic writings (Zach. 7, 1; Neh. 1, 1; 1 Mach. 1, 57; 2 Mach. 1, 9, 18). From the time of Judas Maccabaeus on the 25th of this month it became customary to celebrate with solemnity the feast of the «Dedication of the Temple» or Hânukkâh (1 Mach. 4, 52-59).
Enciclopedia Cattolica