Chanukah: Sukkos' cousin

Maharil cites a minhag not to work the first and last day of Chanuka. 

Perhaps the custom developed due to the first Chanukah—per 2 Maccabees 1:9 and 1:18—having been some kind of delayed Sukkos celebration when work is forbidden on the first and last day.

Maybe this as well could provide another reason as to why we complete hallel daily for the duration of Chanukah, see :מאירי שבת כ"א that asks: ואע"פ שבגאולת מצרים אין גומרין את ההלל אלא יום ראשון ולא אמרו לגמור בח' ימים של חג אלא שהקרבנות חלוקים לעצמם

Even without invoking 2 Maccabees that Chanukah was a delayed Sukkos which is obviously not without its problems (and not part of the mesorah) perhaps the minhag can be explained in light of Ri Milunel (Shabbos 21b) who asserts that the main celebration of Chanuka was being able to fully practice Judaism again and that it was fixed at 8 days as that is the longest holiday we have in our calendar and as it was a tremendous salvation the longest holiday in the Jewish calendar was chosen to model Chanuka after which potentially as well would allow for such a custom to have developed.

Agav, based on this theory, he posits that the neiros are just a nice add on and an intensification of the miracle but that even sans the oil neis Chanuka would still have been 8 days.

ר"י מלוניל שבת כ"א

לשנה אחרת קבעום שמונה ימים טובים. כל השמונה ימים, (לא) [שלא] נעשה נס כזה לישראל, שאלו פרעה לא גזר על המצות, ויון הרשעה גזרה, לפיכך האריכו אלו הימים כשיעור החג, שיהא שמנה ימים להזכיר בהם הנס. ואפי' לא היה נעשה (בהם) [להם נס] בשמן, כמו כן היו שמחים ומזכירין מעשה נסים כשיעור יום טוב הארוך מכל המועדות, אך לא היו מדליקין נרות כלל, אלא מהללים ומרוממים כשאר מועדות, וכשבא ונכפל להם נס בשמן, הוסיפו להדליק הנרות להזכיר כפילת הנס.

In another iteration of the Sukkos connection Aruch hashulchan (אורח חיים תר"ע:ה) reads 2 Maccabees (perhaps 10:6-7) that as they had just recently lost out on Sukkos therefore when celebrating the Chanuka miracle with a new holiday they made it 8 days in commemoration of Sukkos: ועוד טעם לזה מבואר בספר חשמונאי: לפי שעל ידי הגזרות – בטלו אז מלהקריב בחג הסוכות העבר, ובשמיני עצרת. ולכן לזכרון זה – עשו שמונה ימים חנוכה which would allow for such a minhag to have developed even moreso than in Ri milunel's conception of merely using the largest holiday model to pattern Chanukah after but not any more of a connection than that.

As an aside Aruch hashulchan uses this conception to answer the beis yosef's famous question as to why Chanukah is 8 days if the miracle of the oil was only for 7

Megillas Antiochus also alludes to the 8 days being patterned on the Sukkos paradigm: עַל־כֵּן קִיְּמוּ בְּנֵי חַשְׁמוֺנַי קִיּוּם וְחִזְּקוּ אִסָּר וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עִמָּהֶם כְּאֶחָד לַעֲשׂוֺת שְׁמוֺנָה יָמִים הָאֵֽלֶּה יְמֵי מִשְׁתֶּה וְשִׂמְחָה כִּימֵי מוֺעֲדִים הַכְּתוּבִים בַּתּוֺרָה וּלְהַדְלִיק בָּהֶם נֵרוֺת לְהוֺדִֽיעַ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לָהֶם אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַֽיִם נִצּוּחִים׃

Megillas Taanis ascribed the 8 day duration to how long the מזבח's restorative work took to complete: ומה ראו לעשות חנוכה זו ח' ימים אלא בימי מלכות יון נכנסו בית חשמונאי להיכל ובנו את המזבח ושדוהו בשיד ותקנו בו כלי שרת והיו מתעסקין בו ח' ימים.(whereas the neros are attributed to something else: ומה ראו להדליק את הנרות אלא בימי מלכות יון שנכנסו בית חשמונאי להיכל שבעה שפודין של ברזל בידם וחפום בעץ והדליקו בהם את המנורה. Interestingly, Hallel's recitation too is spun off there and given an independent reason: ומה ראו לגמור בהם את הלל אלא שכל תשועה ותשועה שהקב"ה עושה להם לישראל היו מקדימין לפניו בהלל בשירה ובשבח ובהודאה כענין שנא' ויענו בהלל ובהודו לה' כי טוב וגו')

That the the 8 day holiday wasn't established because of the oil miracle is also found in the Maharsha. He writes as follows: מהרש"א חידושי אגדות שבת כ"א::י'

ונראה לפרש דנקרא חנוכה ע"ש חנוכת המזבח כדאמרי' בפרק ר' ישמעאל דבית חשמונאי גנזו אבני מזבח ששקצו אנשי עו"ג לע"ז והוצרכו לבנות מזבח חדש ולכך נקרא חנוכה ולא קאמר הכא מאי חנוכה אלא מאיזה נס קבעו אותו להדליק בו נרות 

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