What would Hanukkah celebrations have looked like in Roman Judea around the time of Christ (1-33 AD)

I'm not a pro historian, but very interested in ancient history, especially in the Levant.

Here's what Josephus says in Antiquities - Book 12, Chapter 7 about the holiday (his historical background closely tracks the story in Maccabees 1, a book probably written in the 2nd century):

Now Judas {Maccabeus} celebrated the festival of the restoration of the sacrifices of the temple for eight days, and omitted no sort of pleasures thereon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendid sacrifices; and he honored God, and delighted them by hymns and psalms. Nay, they were so very glad at the revival of their customs, when, after a long time of intermission, they unexpectedly had regained the freedom of their worship, that they made it a law for their posterity, that they should keep a festival, on account of the restoration of their temple worship, for eight days. And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights. I suppose the reason was, because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that thence was the name given to that festival. Judas also rebuilt the walls round about the city, and reared towers of great height against the incursions of enemies, and set guards therein. He also fortified the city Bethsura, that it might serve as a citadel against any distresses that might come from our enemies.

The celebration of the holiday is also mentioned in [John 10:22] (http://biblehub.com/john/10-22.htm), described as the Feast of Dedication:

Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter...

'Dedication' refers to the history of cleaning and rededicating the Temple to the Jewish God, as it had been 'profaned' under Antiochus IV.

In Maccabees 2, another Jewish book about the events giving rising to the holiday (and the holiday itself), the holiday is likened to 'Tabernacles' (called 'Sukkoth' in Hebrew, itself a holiday of rededication and return:

And they celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the feast of booths, remembering how not long before, during the feast of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals. 7 Therefore bearing ivy-wreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own holy place.

(The ivy-wreathed wands are what are called lulavs and used typically on Sukkoth.)

Other winter solstice holidays celebrated with lights, in particular the Roman Saturnalia made the use of candles, relevant to Roman Judea. As I understand, at Winter Solstice the days are shortest, and after that they became longer - so the holiday celebrated the 'return' of light.

This is all a long way of saying the holiday probably evolved, but at the time of Christ seems to have been about commemorating the Hasmonean victory, involved 'lights' and a rededication of the Temple, possibly involved candles, and possibly tracked the Succoth holiday, perhaps even using the 'lulavs' used in that holiday.

EDIT: This former religious Jew interested in bringing historical reality to religious tradition suggests the 'eight days' explanations (either a miraculous victory over the Greeks OR the miracle of olive oil lasting long enough to make more oil) evolved later in Rabbinic traditions: I found it a good read.

http://kefirahoftheweek.blogspot.com