Hanukkah

The Syrian Greeks (also called the Seleucid Empire).

December 8, 2010

Yes, the small Jewish minorities in the African countries celebrate Hanukkah privately in their homes.

Yes

He dressed up as an armilldillo

Hanukkah menorahs have 9 branches, while the original (in the Holy Temple) had seven (Exodus ch.25). Students of the Kabbalah say that the seven branches and their junctures portrayed, in a different form, the 10 Sephiroth (plus Da'ath) of the Tree of Life. Too difficult to explain here, but there are diagrams on the related link below.

Hanukkah always starts on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev, and lasts for eight days. The Hebrew calendar does not line up with the western calendar because it has a completely different leap year system that can shift holidays each year by to 11-28 days.

Here are the coinciding secular dates for the upcoming years. The candle lightings begin on the evening BEFORE the first date:

2011: December 20-28

2012: December 8-16

2013: November 27-December 5

2014: December 16-24

2015: December 6-14

Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, lasts eight days.

A silver necklace is always good

There is no such thing as Hanukkah Harry. This was a character from a Saturday Night Live sketch in an episode that aired more than 25 years ago.

It is common practice. The Talmud (Shabbat 21b) explains it according to the Torah-principle of "increasing in matters of holiness."

The miracle of Chanukah (also spelled Hanukkah) was that the small container of oil found for the rededication of the Temple at Jerusalem should have lasted only one day but was able to last for eight days until more olive oil was prepared to fuel the eternal flame. That is why Chanukah lasts eight days and involves lights.

Typically, the first night of Chanukah, you light one candle. The second night, you light the first candle again and light a second candle. You light one extra candle each night, keeping them lit for at least half an hour after dark. But, the Talmud does not require that the number of candles lit be different each day, although that is common practice. Another school of thought was that all eight candles should be lit the first day, and then be decreased by one each day.

Hanukkah was instituted by the Sanhedrin (the greatest Jewish sages) about 2175 years ago.

The Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) under Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century BCE), at the instigation of the Hellenizers, had forbidden various Torah-practices such as Sabbath-observance and circumcision, rededicated the Jewish Temple to a Greek idol, and pressed the Jews to offer up sacrifices to the idol. One of the leading elder Jewish sages called upon the people to keep observing the Torah anyway; and if necessary, to use force in resisting the decrees.When a Hellenized Jew offered a sacrifice to the Greek idols in a nearby village, the sage killed him as well as the Greek overseer. This brought a violent reaction from the Greeks; and the loyal Jews, led by the Hasmonean family, were forced to retreat from their towns and strike out at the Greeks in an attempt to oust them from the Holy Land and to enable the people to once again observe the Torah. The Torah-Jews were heavily outnumbered by the attacking Greek armies, but God gave them miraculous victories again and again.

After three years of struggle, the Greek armies retreated from Jerusalem, and the Hasmoneans (also called Maccabees) entered the Holy Temple which the Greeks had defiled, reconsecrated it to God, and began the Temple service once more.
Among other things, they wanted to relight the olive oil candelabrum (Exodus ch.25), but could only find one day's supply of undefiled oil - and it would take eight days to make and bring some more. Miraculously, the menorah stayed lit for eight days (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), allowing enough time for new oil to be prepared and brought.

The significance of the miracle is that it demonstrated that God's presence was still there. The Torah-community was overjoyed, because God's presence meant everything to them. This is what Hanukkah represents: the closeness to God; and the avoidance of Hellenization (assimilation).

The Torah-Sages instituted the festival of Hanukkah at that time (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), to publicize the miracle (Rashi commentary, ibid). This is why we light our Hanukkah-menorahs. (The Hanukkah-menorah, or hanukkiyah, is a special form of the original seven-branched menorah. Our Hanukkah-menorahs have eight spaces for oil, or candles, to mark each of the eight days for which the oil lasted, and a ninth to hold the shamash, a candle used to light the others.)

The Al-Hanisim prayer which we recite during Hanukkah centers around the Hasmoneans' victory and rededication of the Temple, while the candle-lighting commemorates the miracle of the oil. Though the military victory is prominently mentioned in the prayers, it wouldn't have been celebrated if not for the miracle of the oil.

It should also be noted that the main goal for which the Maccabees fought was not political independence. They fought to enable the people to observe the Torah's commandments; as we say in the Al Hanisim prayer: "The Greeks sought to cause us to forget Your Torah and leave Your statutes."

See also:

Jewish history timeline

More about the Hellenized Jews

Hanukkah is unique. It is a minor commemoration a war fought for religious freedom, but because of its proximity to Christmas, some people might (mistakenly) look for comparisons.

Kwanzaa, which was invented in 1966, might be the only holiday that has any visual similarity. It has a similar-looking candle holder.

The candles (or oil) of the menorah are lit with the shamash (the helper candle), which is positioned on the menorah either slightly higher or lower than the other candles but not on the same level as them.

The Menorah in the Jewish Temple had seven (including the one in the middle) branches (Exodus ch.25).

Hanukkah-menorahs have eight branches, plus an extra candle used to light the others.

On Hanukkah there is no tradition concerning the color of the candles. Any color is okay.

December 2, 2010 is the first day, but the first candle is lit after sundown on December 1, 2010.

I think you mean dreidel, it is a four sided spinning top.

Rabbi A. P. Bloch wrote that "The tradition of giving money (Chanukah gelt) to children is of long standing. The custom had its origin in the seventeenth-century practice of Polish Jewry to give money to their small children for distribution to their Torah-teachers. In time, money was also given to children to keep for themselves.

According to the Magen Avraham commentary (17th cent.), it was the custom for yeshiva students to visit homes of Jewish benefactors who dispensed Chanukah coins (Orach Chaim 670). The rabbis approved of the custom of giving money on Chanukah because it publicized the story of the miracle of the oil."

According to popular narrative, it is linked to the miraculous victory of the Maccabees over the ancient Greeks. To celebrate their freedom, the Hasmoneans minted national coins, some of which are still extant.

Twentieth-century American chocolatiers picked up on the concept by creating chocolate gelt. This version of Hanukkah gelt is very popular.

Celebrations that include lights are what the winter holidays of Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas and Ramadan have in common.

Answer:
The presence of light, lights or lamps. However, note the following:
Ramadan is a religious Muslim occasion but is not a winter holiday, since it can occur at any time of year.
Diwali can occur as early as September.
Kwanzaa is a non-religious occasion, founded recently (1966).

Chanukah (European spelling) or Hanukkah (Israeli spelling) is the Jewish Festival of Lights. The word means dedication or rededication and it is written in Hebrew as חנוכה.

Answer:
Hanukkah means dedication, referring to the rededication of the Second Temple after it had been defiled by the Greeks. Here is the background:
The Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) under Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century BCE), at the instigation of the Hellenizers, had forbidden various Torah-practices in Judea, such as Sabbath-observance and circumcision, rededicated the Temple to a Greek idol, and pressed the Jews to offer up idolatrous sacrifices. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Hasmoneans (a family of religious Jews) fought to retake the Holy Temple, which had been seized by the Seleucids, and to enable the people to once again observe the Torah. The Hasmoneans (also called Maccabees) were miraculously victorious. When they reached the Temple grounds, they immediately reconsecrated it to God. As part of this action, they relit the Menorah (Exodus ch.25), which was fueled with olive oil. However, it soon became apparent that there was only sufficient oil to keep the candelabra burning for one single day - and it would take eight days to make and bring some more.
Miraculously, the menorah stayed lit for eight days (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), allowing enough time for new oil to be prepared and brought.
The significance of the miracle is that it demonstrated that God's presence still dwelt in the Holy Temple. This is what Hanukkah represents: the closeness to God; and the avoidance of Hellenization (assimilation).
The Torah Sages instituted the festival of Hanukkah at that time (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), to publicize the miracle (Rashi commentary, ibid). This is why we light our Hanukkah-menorahs.
(The Hanukkah-menorah, or hanukkiyah, is a special form of the original seven-branched menorah. Our Hanukkah-menorahs have eight spaces for oil, or candles, to mark each of the eight days for which the oil lasted and a ninth to hold the shamash, a candle used to light the others.)
The Al-Hanisim prayer which we recite during Hanukkah centers around the Hasmoneans' victory and rededication of the Temple, while the candle-lighting commemorates the miracle of the oil.
It should be noted that the main goal for which the Maccabees fought was not political independence. They fought to enable the people to observe the Torah's commandments; as we say in the Al Hanisim prayer: "the Greeks sought to cause us to forget Your Torah and leave Your statutes."

Light the middle candle and number 1 candle (farthest right) for the 1st night of Channukah. Night 2 do the middle candle and the first 2 candles (farthest right, 2nd farthest right), etc. :)

Decorating for Hanukkah is a new practice among the non-Orthodox that was borrowed from Christmas. Usually only the inside of a house is decorated, and the decorations tend to be small. There are no rules. Common decorative themes include Dreidels and Chanukiot.