It’s Hanukkah time again. Monday, November 29, 2021, was the first day of the eight days of Hanukkah.
Wait, I thought Hanukkah took place at Christmastime. Why is it happening so early this year? Is this a result of global warming?
Hanukkah always begins on the 25th day of Kislev, and the month of Kislev always begins on the new moon. The Jewish calendar is a mixed Solar-Lunar one, which means that some years have 12 months, and some have 13.
But it’s, like, the Jewish Christmas, right? Only without Jesus because, y’know, Jewish.
Not really. And by “not really” I mean, “really, really not.” To begin with, it’s a minor Jewish holiday – like the Jewish equivalent of Shrove Tuesday.
Shrove what?
Exactly. A minor holiday.
Hanukkah tends to get more attention as a time of festive decorations and gift-giving in countries like the U.S. that have a large Christian population or countries like Japan that observe Christmas very energetically, so Jewish children don’t feel so left out.
The central role of the lighted Menorah as a source of light and hope has a stronger impact in a high-latitude country where the middle of winter is a time of darkness and cold, a time when people need to see some bright lights and to be reminded that the darkness isn’t going to last forever. That aspect of Hanukkah wasn’t as important in the ancient Mediterranean, where the winter temperatures were milder and where the day length didn’t change as much.
Huh. So, like, you’re sorta saying that Hanukkah isn’t the Jewish Christmas, but the Menorah is the Jewish Christmas tree?
Uhhh…yes, actually.
Keep in mind, Christmas trees are not actually Christmas trees at all. They’re Yule trees. The decorated and lighted tree was a custom of the Yule festival in the Northern countries for centuries before Christianity reached them.
So if you hear people make jokes about having a “Hanukkah tree,” just say, “Why not?”
You can see Yule trees in the homes of atheists and Buddhists. There’s no reason why Jews shouldn’t put up a Yule tree during Hanukkah or to mark the Winter Solstice.
But why is there such a thing as Hanukkah, and why does it last eight days?
Well, the word “Hanukkah” means “dedication,” and the holiday is in commemoration of the rededication, the reconsecration, of the Temple in Jerusalem after it was retaken by the Maccabees, after a long period during which Judea was not independent. The Greeks had come down out of Syria 50 years before, and in 165 B.C.E. the Maccabees brought the hammer down on them and kicked them out of Jerusalem.
After the throw down, they found the Temple looking like a real mess – desecrated, you might say – and wanted to reconsecrate it. For that, they needed holy oil to light the lamps, or at least to light one lamp. They hunted around and, amazingly, they found one little bottle of the stuff. They were sorry to see there was only enough oil for one night, but they figured one night was better than nothing, so they poured it in and lit it…and it burned for eight days straight.
The lamp got good mileage.
Miraculously good.
A miraculous light, apparently provided to mark the miraculously good performance of the Maccabees against the Greeks, who had been the odds-on favorites to win.
Anyway, that’s why it lasts for eight days, and why the special menorah used during Hanukkah, called a hanukkiah, has nine branches rather than the usual seven, for holding eight candles, plus a ninth that’s used to light the others.
There’s a theory that the shape of the Menorah may be a survival from a prehistoric religious symbol, the Tree of Life, but no one is completely sure about that one.
I’m still having a hard time with the idea that Hanukkah is a minor holiday. It’s pretty much the only Jewish holiday I can think of.
Well, it’s true. I checked with the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, and even though Hanukkah isn’t the Jewish Christmas, Rhode Island is the Jewish Plymouth – it’s the place where the first Jewish congregation was formed in the Thirteen Colonies, mainly because it was the first place where one was allowed to form.
But if you want to know about more significant Jewish holidays, you should look up Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Yom Kippur, Passover, and Purim.
Not every Jew you meet will observe all or even any of them – and not everyone who observes them is Jewish. Generally speaking, Jewish families give a lot more thought to where to get good, flaky, apricot-y Hamantaschen for Purim or where to build their temporary homes called sukkah for Sukkot than what to buy Sherman for the eighth day of Hanukkah.
Cool, well…thanks. See you around.
Conversations by John M. Burt
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