Ah, yes, Hanukkah. The Festival of Lights. The “Jewish Christmas.” The holiday that Adam Sandler wrote a song about.
To Jewish people, however, Hanukkah isn’t actually all that religious of a holiday —though because of its proximity to Christmas, it’s often assumed the most important Jewish holiday. It’s not. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Passover, for example, are more religiously observed, though Hanukkah certainly holds cultural significance.
As a child, Hanukkah meant I could get presents just like my predominantly-Christian classmates and not feel left out. It also meant nodding politely (and still doing so) when someone said “Merry Christmas” come mid-to-late December, and trying to remember to say it back.
So, if Hanukkah isn’t all that religious, what’s all the fuss about?
Disclaimer: Like any minority, I am but one of many members and my experiences don’t reflect that of all Jews.
What exactly is Hanukkah and when is it?
Known as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah celebrates the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century B.C. The event occurred when Jews rose up against Greek-Syrian rulers in the Maccabean Revolt and drove them out of Jerusalem, according to the History Channel.
To mark their victory, Jews wanted to reclaim the temple and light its menorah, but only found enough pure olive oil for one day, according to Chabad.org. That one-day supply lasted eight and is considered a miracle in Jewish faith.
Every year, Hanukkah begins on 25th day of Kislev, a month in the Hebrew calendar. It lasts eight nights (yes, because of the oil) and this year it’s from Dec. 22-30.
Hold up. Did the oil actually last eight days?
No. Well, maybe. I was sure it was true until my seventh grade Hebrew school class when someone told me it wasn’t.
The story of the oil lasting eight days goes back to ancient rabbis, who seemed to have made up the story while chatting about lighting candles during the holiday, reports the Washington Post. Some staunchly believe the oil story, though others are more inclined to focus on the messages/lessons the holiday teaches.
Also, back up. Is it Hanukkah or Chanukah?
Both are correct. In fact, there are more than a dozen variations of how to spell the holiday’s name in English, according to the Oxford Dictionaries and Merriam-Webster.
The differences arise because the holiday’s name comes from Hebrew, which doesn’t use the Latin alphabet. According to Merriam-Webster, some sounds in Hebrew don’t have exact matches for Latin letters, creating the multiple spellings.
Today, the most common spelling Hanukkah, but don’t be surprised if you also see Chanukah or Hanukah, according to the two dictionaries.
What happens during Hanukkah?
To mark the holiday, Jews light one candle each evening on a nine-branched menorah. The ninth candle — the shamash, (“helper” or “attendant”) — is used to light the other eight.
The lit menorahs are displayed prominently, often in windows. Playing with tops called dreidels and exchanging gifts are other Hanukkah traditions to celebrate the holiday. Don’t forget about gelt, chocolate coins adults give to children during Hanukkah (a symbol of the money that Jewish parents would give their children in lieu of gifts; “gelt” means money in Yiddish).
Wait, Hanukkah isn’t as big a deal as Christmas?
No, at least not in the traditional religious sense. In fact, if you Google “Hanukkah not big deal,” you’ll find a plethora of articles that can tell you as much.
That said, it’s still meaningful for other reasons. When I asked fellow Jews what makes Hanukkah special on my Twitter feed, my followers talked about “latkes,” the potato pancakes typically consumed on the holiday. (People eat doughnuts filled with jelly, or sufganiyot, too. Get it? Fried food.)
Like other Jewish holidays, haunting Hebrew hymns are part of the occasion. “Rugrats,” the Nickelodeon cartoon, aired a Hanukkah-themed episode in 1996 that holds up as educational, endearing and entertaining.
And who can forget about the presents? Growing up it was fun to look forward to a different gift every night — some less expensive like pajamas and art supplies. The best (and probably worst year, for the adults in my family, anyway) was when my grandparents bought each of the dozen or so grandchildren Razor scooters. As I got older, the tradition shifted into one large gift for the period, though we always still light the candles.
OK, but why do people really make a fuss about Hanukkah?
You can thank (or not thank) American Jews for that. It’s debatable whether it was a direct response to Christmas or an effort to encourage young people to make time for synagogue, reports Vox. The Atlantic notes that the story of Hanukkah isn’t even in the Torah, the Jewish Bible. For comparison’s sake: This is the same bible that included my Torah portion, Bamidbar, which was literally just about counting tribes around a sacred tabernacle.
Like most Jewish teachings, “it underscores one of the most significant themes in Jewish history: the struggle to practice Judaism when powerful forces seek to extinguish it,” writes Lauren Markoe of the Religion News Service. Also: “It serves a particular purpose: an opportunity to negotiate the twin, competing pressures of ethnic tension and assimilation,” writes Emma Green in The Atlantic (i.e. we are Maccabees, hear us roar).
Anti-Semitism remains more than prevalent in the world today, from the shooting at the kosher supermarket earlier this year in New Jersey to the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018. President Donald Trump signed an executive order just this month designed to cut off aid to colleges that tolerate anti-Semitism, though some critics called it an effort to stifle free speech and criticism of Israel.
I’m not a super religious person, but after re-educating myself about the holiday while researching this article, I will be proud to light the candles to remind myself about the most important part of the holiday to me: fighting for the right to exist.
Contributing: Ryan W. Miller and David Jackson, USA TODAY.
Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/22/hanukkah-2019-not-jewish-christmas-when-is-it/2690015001/
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