A brief history of Hanukkah and what it means today
Hanukkah has officially begun! For many Americans, the elaborate history behind the Jewish holiday remains a mystery, with some knowing only that it involves candles, potato pancakes and difficult-to-spell toys. Christmas gets more than its share of the spotlight, but there is something to be said for this special celebration that lasts a full eight days.
Here is a little background on Hanukkah, the other reason for the season.
How Hanukkah began
In the Second Century BCE, Greek Emperor Antiochus IV outlawed Judaism…in Judea. Criminalizing the deeply-held faith of an entire people turned out not to be a stellar idea, and when his men looted a key Jewish temple, it inspired a revolt. This revolt was led by the tough-as-nails son of a Jewish priest, Judah, who was soon to earn the affectionate moniker of Judah Maccabee, or “Judah the Hammer.”
For years, Judah lived up to his name, using guerilla warfare to inspire fear in the enemies of Judaism, even stealing and wielding the sword of a defeated general as a symbol of retribution. Eventually, the Hebrew Hammer clobbered the Greeks so hard they had to evacuate Jerusalem, yielding the aforementioned temple to its rightful owners. Zeus got the boot, and the grounds were purified to Judah’s satisfaction — rededicated to Yahweh.
Part of the ensuing celebration saw the ritual burning of purified oil, but most of the temple’s oil had been sullied by the Greeks. Just one cruse of pure oil remained — enough for a single day of lit flame — yet the Talmud reports that this flame was maintained for eight days until freshly consecrated oil could be applied. This is the Hanukkah miracle that informs the eight-day period of today’s Jewish festival.
Celebrating Hannukah today
Every Hanukkah, across the world, Jewish families bring out the menorah, an eight-pronged candelabrum. On the first evening, a single candle is placed in the menorah and lit. So it goes for eight evenings in a row. By day eight of the celebration, there is a fully stacked menorah with eight luminous wicks in remembrance of the Hanukkah miracle.
In Israel, they take this a step further by running burning torches through the streets until they arrive at a colossal menorah — it might even be said they Macc-a-bee-line for it.
Giant candles or no, many families regard Hanukkah as a celebration of Jewish strength and perseverance. They decorate their homes with heart-warming insignia, read psalms, sing hymns and offer prayers over the course of the festival. Relatives get together, play cards, eat latkes and doughnuts and gift children with toys and money, or chocolate coins. Kids play with dreidels, which are spinning tops featuring Hebrew letters that ultimately spell out, “a great miracle happened there.”
So, whether celebrants are into Hanukkah for religious or cultural reasons, in the end, it is a cozy, family-oriented celebration of shared values and the miraculous. Exciting gifts make an appearance too — though do not expect decorative pine trees to grace the living room.
By Drew Mortier
