12/25/2024
As we celebrate the holiday season, we would like to shed light on Hanukkah, also referred to as the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the miracle that occurred in the Temple of Jerusalem around the year 165 BCE. Around that time there was a war between the Syrian Greeks & the Jewish over religion. A group of Jews, known as the Maccabees, fought to keep their religion & eventually won. During the war, the temple was destroyed. In the temple, there was a candelabra that was always lit to signify that G-d was always present. When looking for oil to keep the candelabra lit, there was only enough oil to last one night; however, the oil lasted 8 nights. It was a miracle!
During the eight days of Hanukkah, the menorah (candelabra) is lit each night, one candle at a time, to signify each night the oil lasted. You may have noticed that the menorah has 9 branches with a taller one in the middle. This candle is called the Shamash (the “helper”) & lights all the other candles. During Hanukkah, like most Jewish holidays, there are special foods eaten, including potato pancakes (latkes) & jelly donuts (sufaniyot), which are fried in oil. Another Hanukkah tradition is playing dreidel (spinning top game). The letters on the dreidel are nun, gimmel, hey, and shin, which are acronyms for the phrase “Nes Gadol Haya Sham”. The phrase in English translates to “A great miracle happened there”.
This year, Hanukkah starts on December 25th, which is late. Hanukkah starts on different dates every year because the Jewish calendar goes by a lunisolar calendar. Technically speaking, it starts on the same day each year according to the Hebrew calendar, which is the 25th of Kislev. During this holiday season, we would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday, across all faiths! Also, we wish a Chag Sameach (Happy Hanukkah) to those who celebrate!
(Thank you to our MVAE staff that share in our celebrations, & teach us about theirs)
