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Hanukkah
The festival of lights, as it is often called, is a celebration of both Jewish spiritual values and the triumph of the Jews over the armies of Antiochus IV.
984 Questions
How did the Jews win the war that started Hanukkah?
The spiritual answer is that they had God on their side, but the fact is that they were poorly equipped but had better battle tactics than the Syrian-Greeks.
Answer:"Better battle tactics" isn't enough to explain away the open miracle of the Maccabees' victories. Yes, "victories" plural. The battles were fought over a twenty-eight year period. In several occasions, the Maccabees faced Seleucid armies over ten times their size; and the Seleucids were equipped with elephants and were battle-hardened soldiers, whereas the Maccabees had not had any previous military training or experience. God's help is actually the only sound explanation, like it or not.Hanukkah is celebrated by Jews, not by countries (with the exception of the country of Israel, where it is a holiday in the school system).
Jews live in most countries of the world, and wherever they live, they celebrate Jewish holidays including Hanukkah.
Name of lamp lit during Hanukkah?
The name of the "lamp" lit is a Channukiah. Some call it a Hanukkah-menorah.
Harmonica
Veronica
Santa Monica
depends how you pronounce it - "ik-ah" or "oo-kah"
(ik-ah) angelica Antarctica arnica Baedecker bicker billsticker bootlicker brassica (bumper) sticker Central/Latin/Middle/North/South/Spanish/United States of/ America Chanukah Chanukkah (city) slicker cotton-/fruit/hop-/nit-/nose-/nut/ picker dicker dishlicker Dominica (drug) trafficker encephalitis lethargica erica goalkicker erotica exotica flicker fossicker frolicker Hanukkah hard/malt/ liquor hepatica (lay) vicar kicker licker maiolica majolica nicker North/South/Africa picnicker pigsticker pricker quicker replica sciatica sicker snicker swastika thicker ticker vesica whicker Wicca wicca wicker
(oo-kah) bazooka blucher euchre (filthy) lucre hapuka involucre manuka melaleuca nucha rebuker snooker spruiker stooker verruca
Why does Hanukkah sometimes start with a c?
There are two standard spellings for Hanukkah in English:
- Chanukah
- Hanukkah
In Hebrew, Hanukkah begins with a sound not found in English, and in some European languages, such as German, the ch represents that sound.
What is the English translation to the yiddish song oy chanukah oy chanukah?
Chanukah, Oh Chanukah
Come light the menorah
Let's have a party
We'll all dance the horah
Gather 'round the table, we'll give you a treat
Dreidels (or Sevivon) to play with, and latkes (or Levivot) to eat
And while we are playing (or dancing)
The candles are burning bright (or low)
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago.
When does Hanukkah and Christmas fall again on the same year again?
They fall on the same year EVERY year. They just fall on different days of that year.
Christmas is always on December 25.
Hanukkah starts on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev, and lasts for eight days. Here are the coinciding secular dates for the upcoming years:
2011: December 20-28
2012: December 8-16
2013: November 27-December 5
2014: December 16-24
2015: December 6-14
Why give Hanukkah cards on Hanukkah?
The same reason you would give out other holiday cards. It is done to celebrate the joyous holiday and remember the miracle that occurred so many years ago. It is a way to say hello to friends and family and remind them how lucky we are to have one another.
What are some words describing Hanukkah?
awesome; warm (inside); celebratory; menorah; candles; Torah-readings; prayers and blessings; songs; family; dreidel (spinning top); potato pancakes; jelly donuts
What colors are the candles on a menorah?
They can be any color. The color has no significance, other than style and personal preference.
What are the symbols for Dreidel?
The symbols found on the Jewish Dreidel can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreidel
Can a shamash candle be shorter than the other candles on a menora?
It can, but it should keep burning as long as the other candles are lit. Ideally, it should be the tallest.
Do Jews decorate their homes for Hanukkah which is similar to Christmas?
Yes. Many Jews have a "Hanukkah bush," which is similar to a Christmas tree, except it has Hanukkah decorations.
Also, they have Hanukkah wreaths and stockings.
Answer 2
Jewish answer: No. Homes with young children may place paper depictions of a menorah and a cruse of oil, but this is optional. Other than that, the answer is no. Such concepts as a "Hanukkah bush," or wreaths etc., indicate nothing except complete assimilation and have no relation to Judaism.
Answer 3
The only real similarity between Hanukkah and Christmas is that they both occur around the same time. Hanukkah is a fairly minor holiday in the Jewish calendar, but it has been blown all out of proportion because they are fairly close together in the calendar.
Do you give presents on Christmas Kwanzaa and Hanukkah?
It depends on the family, but generally yes.
Answer:In Hanukkah, the only traditional gift is the gelt (coins) given to children.What is a lighter used to light a candle called?
The candle that is used to light all of the other Chanukkah candles is a Shamash.
When do we celebrate Hanukkah?
Hanukkah always begins on the same date in the Hebrew calendar - the 25th of Kislev, which is the day the Maccabees re-dedicated the temple over 2,150 years ago. Hanukkah lasts for eight days.
The Hebrew calendar does not precisely match the secular calendar, so the first day of Hanukkah varies according to it. Hanukkah falls in December, sometimes beginning in late November.
What is this official color of a dreidel?
dreidels don't have an official color. They can be any color.
Why isn't Hanukkah in the Jewish Bible?
The Jewish rulers who defeated the Syrian Greeks were the Hasmoneans from the tribe of Levi in violation of the biblical command to have a ruler from the tribe of Judah.
Answer:The above answer is simultaneously factual and mistaken. While the Hasmoneans did violate the Biblical tradition by making themselves unauthorized kings, they did so a couple of generations after the celebration of Hanukkah had been created.The reason why Hanukkah isn't in the Jewish Bible is because prophecy had ended and the canon had been sealed close to two centuries before the events of Hanukkah.
How many lights on the menorah?
9
There are eight candles for the eight nights of Hannukak, and one bigger candle (usually centered) which is the candle used to light the rest.
Is the day of atonement the same as Hanukkah?
No. The Day of Atonement, which is Yom Kippur, is about two and a half months before the beginning of Hanukkah.
