Season’s Greetings for Christmas and Hanukkah
This year we are delighted that Christmas Day and the first of the 8 days of Hanukkah both fall on the same day. We invite our Fellow Christians to take a few moments to learn more about this Jewish festival, and to our Jewish brothers and sisters: “Chag sameach!!”
Hanukkah, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
“Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday, also known as the Festival of lights. Hanukkah is a Hebrew word meaning “dedication”. (It also has other spellings in English, such as Chanukah, Hannukah, Hanukah, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Hanuka, Channukah, Hanukka, Hanaka, Haneka, Hanika and Khanukkah.)
Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, and the holiday is celebrated for eight days. Since in Jewish tradition the Hebrew calendar date starts at sunset, the first evening of Hanukkah starts after the sunset of the 24th of Kislev.
Always an important holiday to religious Jews, Hanukkah gained unusual importance with many assimilated secular Jewish families in twentieth century America, who did not consider themselves religious, yet wanted an alternative to Christmas celebrations that often coincide with Hanukkah.
Hanukkah commemorates two main historical events:
The triumph of Judaism’s spiritual values as embodied in its Torah (symbolized by the Menorah) over Hellenistic civilization which had attempted to Hellenize (culturally assimilate) the Jews away from practicing Judaism’s commandments.
The victory of the ancient Jewish Hasmoneans over the Grecian Seleucid Empire when Judah Maccabee and his brothers defeated overwhelming forces and rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem, almost two centuries before the common era. However, because Jews do not glorify war and because of Judaism’s dislike for the Hasmonean later ungodly behavior, the holiday has never emphasized these military aspects but has concentrated on celebrating the rededication and the associated miracle of the Hanukah lights as described in the Talmud. The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of special Hanukkah lights on each of the festival’s eight nights.”
