The Jewish festival of Hannukah, which this 12 months runs from 25 December to 2 January, actually has quite a bit in common with the Christian Christmas. This is the story …
Hanukkah Menorah
Hannukah is an annual Jewish festival which lasts eight days and can be often known as the Festival of Lights, or the Feast of Dedication. During Hanukkah Jews light a nine-branched candelabra, called a Menorah, from the Hebrew word for lamp, which they often put of their window to be seen from the road.
This menorah is symbolic of the seven-branched oil lamp, which was within the Temple in Jerusalem (Exodus 25:31-40). The original Temple menorah was lit day by day by a priest from fresh consecrated olive oil, and was never presupposed to be allowed to exit (Exodus 27:21). The Talmud forbids a seven-branched menorah from getting used outside the Temple, so the tradition arose for the Hanukkah menorah to have eight branches, plus a ninth lamp in the center which is used to light the others.
History of Hanukkah
The background to Hanukkah lies within the second century BC when a Greek army led by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes (who ruled 175 to 164 BC) marched into Jerusalem (2 Maccabees 5:11–14). Antiochus banned Jewish worship, and attempted to force the inhabitants to worship Greek pagan gods as an alternative. In 167 BC, he desecrated the Temple when he erected an altar in it to the pagan god Zeus (1 Maccabees 1:41-48), and let the Menorah exit. These insults triggered a Jewish revolt (1 Maccabees 1:62-64) by brothers of the priestly Hasmonean family (1 Maccabees 2). They became often known as the Maccabees, considered derived from the Aramaic word for hammer.
There was a triumphal entry into Jerusalem by Simon Maccabee who got here into Jerusalem to liberate it (1 Maccabees 13:51). Following the liberation of Jerusalem, the Jewish community cleansed the Temple from pagan worship in 164 (or 165) BC, led by Judah Maccabee (Judas Maccabeus) and his brothers (1 Maccabees 4:41-51). When the temple was ready, they ceremonially lit the menorah. The legend (whether true or not) goes that there gave the impression to be only barely enough oil to maintain it burning for a single day. However, this small quantity of oil kept the candle burning for eight days, which was the period of time it took for more oil to be made. This was considered a miracle.
Hanukkah is inaugurated
Then “all of the assembly of Israel determined that each 12 months at that season the times of dedication of the altar must be observed with joy and gladness for eight days, starting with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev” (1 Maccabees 4:59).
Thus the Jewish Feast of Dedication was inaugurated. It is now higher often known as Hanukkah (also spelt Chanukah), from the Hebrew word for “dedication”. The Jewish month of Chislev (also spelt Kislev), roughly equates to December. Hanukkah is a convention for many Jewish groups around the globe. Customs vary but a standard custom is to light a menorah, also called a “hanukkiah”, with one candle for every of the eight days of the miracle. A ninth candle in the center is used to kindle the others.
Hanukkah within the Bible
Hanukkah just isn’t mentioned in the trendy type of the Jewish Bible, commonly called the Tanakh, which is predicated on the Masoretic Hebrew text. However, the story is told within the books of Maccabees. Key references are present in 1 Maccabees 4:36, 52–59 and in 2 Maccabees 1:18 and 10:5.
The books of Maccabees were included within the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Jewish Bible widely utilized by diaspora Jews from the third century BC until the early centuries of the Christian era. The Septuagint was also the Old Testament for the Early Church, when Greek was the lingua franca. So, the books of Maccabees were effectively within the historical Bible for each Jews and Christians. These books are omitted in most recent Jewish and Protestant Bibles, although they continue to be within the Old Testament in Catholic and Christian Orthodox Bibles. However, Jews still reference this story in Maccabees at Hanukkah.
Jesus and Hanukkah
As was the custom on the time, Jesus marked Hanukkah. There is a reference within the New Testament to Jesus attending Hanukkah in John 10:22. The King James Version reads: “And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.” The New International Version (NIV) adds in a helpful footnote to clarify that the Feast of Dedications is Hanukkah. A couple of versions, that are glad to translate the meaning of words and phrases, somewhat than literally translate the words themselves, have translated Feast of Dedication as Hanukkah, because it is more commonly known today. The New Living Translation (NLT) has, “It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem on the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication.” The EasyEnglish version, which was translated for individuals who wouldn’t have English as their first language, puts it as, “It was the time for the Jewish Festival called Hanukkah. This happened in Jerusalem. It was winter.”
When Jesus himself made a triumphal ride into Jerusalem it echoed the liberation by the Maccabees. He followed this by cleansing the Temple, which echoed the cleansing of the Temple by the Maccabees at Hanukkah. Hanukkah can be often known as the Festival of Lights when the Temple was rededicated, and at Christmas Christians recall that Jesus called himself the sunshine of the world (John 8:12). This analogy with Hanukkah, when the Temple was rededicated, is stronger once we recall that Jesus also referred to himself as the brand new Temple (John 2:18–22).
It was at this Hanukkah that “Jesus was within the temple courts walking in Solomonʼs Colonnade. The Jews who were there gathered round him, saying, ‘How long will you retain us in suspense? If you might be the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I did inform you, but you don’t imagine…” (John 10:23-25 NIV).
Early English Bible translations used to cross-reference John 10:22 to Maccabees. William Tyndale was the primary to do that in his 1534 New Testament, which cross-references John 10:22 to 1 Maccabees 4. The original version of the King James Version from 1611 referenced John 10:22 to 1 Maccabees 4:59. Many modern English translations which seem squeamish about cross-referencing the Apocrypha don’t add in this useful reference, so the link is lost on most evangelical Christians.
The dating of Hanukkah and Christmas
The dating of Christmas has long been debated. Some people think it was to interchange the longheld pagan winter solstice held in Britain. However, the primary recorded references to Christmas predate Yule in Britain, and predate the arrival of St Augustine in England within the sixth century, so this theory doesn’t make sense historically.
Hanukkah falls every 12 months on the twenty fifth day of the Jewish month of Kislev (also spelt Chislev), which overlaps with December, and Christmas falls on the twenty fifth day of December. This could also be one reason why early Christians adopted 25 December for Christmas. Each 12 months Hanukkah falls around Christmas time. Some years the beginning of Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the identical day. In 2024, the sunset of December 25 coincides with the twenty fifth day of Kislev, the primary night of Hanukkah, making Christmas Day and the start of Hanukkah fall on the identical day.
The majority of the primary Christians were from a Jewish background, and Hanukkah was a part of their tradition. Just because the Passover was replaced by Easter, so it appears that evidently Hanukkah was replaced by Christmas.
Candles
In nineteenth-century Germany when large numbers of Ashkenazi Jews and Christians lived alongside one another, the tradition of the Hanukkah Menorah can have influenced the Christian idea of the Advent candles. Lutheran Christians as an alternative developed the concept of lighting Advent candles. The Advent wreath with five candles has been adopted now in lots of churches, once they light a candle for every Sunday in Advent and one central candle for Christmas. These days some Christians may also have a Menorah candle within the window.
Modern Hanukkah
Until modern times Hanukkah was a reasonably minor Jewish festival. However, in countries where Jews and Christians have lived amongst one another, Hanukkah has developed to incorporate many customs and practices of the broader community that are common at Christmas time, they usually have adapted them to Hanukkah. As a result, Jews may sing Hanukkah songs, exchange gifts, send Hanukkah cards and attend Hanukkah parties. Some Jews also have a Hanukkah bush. The Hanukkah bush will often have a star of David on top of the tree.
The many connections between Hanukkah and Christmas are greater than a coincidence.
