Hanukkah Begins This Evening. 5 Things.
The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah began this evening, Dec 18. I'm not Jewish myself but I'm married into a Jewish family and have had many Jewish friends since teenage years. That's given me many opportunities to learn a fair bit about Jewish traditions. Among the things I've learned is that we non-Jews tend to have a lot of misunderstandings about Hanukkah. For example, it's not "Jewish Christmas"- even though this year the 8 day celebration overlaps Christmas. If you thought maybe it was consider these quick Five Things to help you understand Hanukkah better:
1.What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights. It celebrates the restoration of their Second Temple in Jerusalem in the year 165 B.C.E. (almost 2,200 years ago) after it had been captured and desecrated by invaders for several years. The reason it's the Festival of Lights in because to reconsecrate the temple after liberating it, the Jews had to relight the Eternal Flame. The temple remains hallowed as long as the lamp stays lit. There was only enough oil in the temple to burn for one day, and the next supply would take eight days to arrive. Then a miracle occurred: that one day's supply of oil burned all eight days. The temple was restored.
2.What's the significance of Hanukkah?
The name "Hanukkah" comes from Hebrew word for dedication. It celebrates the re-dedication of their temple after years in enemy hands. It also celebrates the dedication of the Jews who persevered for years under occupation and the fighters who were victorious against long odds in throwing off the yoke of oppression.
3.I see it written Hanukkah, Chanukah, Hannuka, etc., what's the deal?
There are several spellings floating around in English. That's typical when a word is translated from a language with a different alphabet. In the original Hebrew it's spelled חנוכה. The pronunciation is like "Ha new kah" - not "Cha nuke uh". Some of the confusion comes from the way some translations use the leading Ch to indicate that the Hebrew letter ח has a strongly aspirated H sound. (When you hear people making fun of spoken Hebrew by clearing their throats while talking... that's what it is.)
4.
How do Jews celebrate Hanukkah?
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is an eight day long celebration corresponding to the miracle of the oil that helped reconsecrate the temple. Jews celebrate by eating foods fried in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and jelly doughnuts. One of the most visible forms of celebration is the lighting of a special menorah (candelabra) called the hanukkiya. It has 8 candles, one for each day of the miracle, plus a ninth candle used as the ceremonial lighter.
5.Is Hanukkah like Christmas?
Hanukkah sometimes gets thought of as "Jewish Christmas" because it falls on the calendar near Christmas. The two holidays are very different, though. Christmas is Christians' celebration of the birth of their savior and is one of their most sacred holidays. Hanukkah is actually a minor holy day in Jewish tradition. Since the mid-20th century, though, it's gotten played up a lot because of its proximity on the calendar to Christmas. One of the ways it has been expanded is the adoption of gift-giving, like Christmas. Historically, gifts were given to children during Hanukkah but they were very small and were done in a tradition reflecting the hardships of living under oppression. I could go into greater detail on that... but I'll save it for part of the next Five Things!
1.What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights. It celebrates the restoration of their Second Temple in Jerusalem in the year 165 B.C.E. (almost 2,200 years ago) after it had been captured and desecrated by invaders for several years. The reason it's the Festival of Lights in because to reconsecrate the temple after liberating it, the Jews had to relight the Eternal Flame. The temple remains hallowed as long as the lamp stays lit. There was only enough oil in the temple to burn for one day, and the next supply would take eight days to arrive. Then a miracle occurred: that one day's supply of oil burned all eight days. The temple was restored.
2.What's the significance of Hanukkah?
The name "Hanukkah" comes from Hebrew word for dedication. It celebrates the re-dedication of their temple after years in enemy hands. It also celebrates the dedication of the Jews who persevered for years under occupation and the fighters who were victorious against long odds in throwing off the yoke of oppression.
3.I see it written Hanukkah, Chanukah, Hannuka, etc., what's the deal?
There are several spellings floating around in English. That's typical when a word is translated from a language with a different alphabet. In the original Hebrew it's spelled חנוכה. The pronunciation is like "Ha new kah" - not "Cha nuke uh". Some of the confusion comes from the way some translations use the leading Ch to indicate that the Hebrew letter ח has a strongly aspirated H sound. (When you hear people making fun of spoken Hebrew by clearing their throats while talking... that's what it is.)
4.
How do Jews celebrate Hanukkah?
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is an eight day long celebration corresponding to the miracle of the oil that helped reconsecrate the temple. Jews celebrate by eating foods fried in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and jelly doughnuts. One of the most visible forms of celebration is the lighting of a special menorah (candelabra) called the hanukkiya. It has 8 candles, one for each day of the miracle, plus a ninth candle used as the ceremonial lighter.
5.Is Hanukkah like Christmas?
Hanukkah sometimes gets thought of as "Jewish Christmas" because it falls on the calendar near Christmas. The two holidays are very different, though. Christmas is Christians' celebration of the birth of their savior and is one of their most sacred holidays. Hanukkah is actually a minor holy day in Jewish tradition. Since the mid-20th century, though, it's gotten played up a lot because of its proximity on the calendar to Christmas. One of the ways it has been expanded is the adoption of gift-giving, like Christmas. Historically, gifts were given to children during Hanukkah but they were very small and were done in a tradition reflecting the hardships of living under oppression. I could go into greater detail on that... but I'll save it for part of the next Five Things!