2023-12-08 12:34:33
The holiday on the jews Hanukkah began on December 7 and will continue for 8 days in honor of the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 200 BC.
Hanukkah is sometimes called the Jewish Christmas, but the holiday has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus, writes Deutsche Welle.
Instead, it commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem around 200 BCE, where, according to legend, the Jews rose up against their Greco-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt. In fact, the word Hanukkah means “re-dedication.”
Under Greek rule, the Jews were not allowed to practice their religion for two centuries until they recaptured Jerusalem in 164 BCE. After cleansing the Second Temple and rebuilding its altar, they found a jar of oil that was only enough to keep the candles of the menorah (eight-branched candlestick) burning for one day. However, they did not go out for eight days.
This is why Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days, with a candle lit each day after dark.
The nine-branched candlestick
Although people commonly use the term menorah, what is lit during Hanukkah is a hanukiyah, a nine-branched candlestick. The ninth holder is for the “helper” (known in Hebrew as shamash), the candle that is used to light the remaining eight candles after the blessing (brachot).
The phase of the moon determines the date of the Jewish Festival of Lights. It always begins on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, the ninth month in the Jewish calendar, which is why the date changes in the Gregorian calendar. In 2022, Hanukkah begins on December 18.
Initially, gifts were not part of the celebrations.
However, Hanukkah has become more commercialized over the years, so it is customary to give gifts, especially to children. People like to eat foods fried in butter, including round jelly donuts (sufganiyot) and potato pancakes (latkes).
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