Christmas Countdown: Day 21 Family Tradition
Ok, this isn’t really Christmas at all but I had to include it.
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. Happy Hanukkah to all our Jewish friends and family!
While Hanukkah isn’t really considered a major holiday in the Jewish religion, it is still part of the season and I find it helps my family remember that while most of the world is celebrating SOMETHING this time of year, we aren’t all celebrating the same thing or for the same reason. It helps us stay away that we live in a world and not in a little box only with others just like us. Although I am not a fan (at all) of the whole PC trend toward taking Christmas out of the Winter Holidays, I also try to raise my kids not to presume anything about others belief systems. I also hope that it strengthens their own individual belief system to take some of the unknown and the allure out of other ideologies.
So what was I saying? Oh! Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah and it amazes me how few people still really even know what Hanukkah is. So here is an extremely abbreviated lesson:
In short, Hanukkah is the celebration of a miracle. According to the account of the Maccabees, the Greek Syrian armies conquered the people of Israel and demanded that the Jews stop worshipping their God and instead worship the Greek Gods, by threat of death. Some Jews refused and fled to the mountains where they created their own army. This army fought back against the Greek Syrian army for years and finally defeated them. The Temple in Jerusalem was returned to the people but would need to be purified and rededicated before anyone could worship in it. To rededicate the Temple, an eternal light would have to be kept burning in the sanctuary for eight days and nights but there was only enough oil to burn for one night night. Still, miraculously, the light burned for all eight nights - a sign that God had returned to His place of Worship.
You can read this story in far more detail at the excellent Museum of Science and Industry website.
So that’s the story of Hanukkah. In celebration of this miracle, Jews light an additional candle on the menorah every night for 8 nights. Customarily a small gift or gifts are exchanged throughout the holiday as well.
One fun thing kids love to do during Hanukkah is play dreidel. You can make a paper dreidel if you don’t already own one and then follow these directions online for how to play. Children often play with gelt (chocolate coins covered in gold foil) but any old yummy treat would be just as fun. Or try your hand at this Online Dreidel Game - fun times!
December 4th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Thanks for the online game — I just sent it on to my co-workers! Nice post — I appreciate it.
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December 4th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Thanks Nicki- even though I knew the story of Hanukkah, I appreciated reading it again.
I hope to instill in my children as well a deep appreciation for our family’s religion and customs, while at the same time an understanding that not everyone has the same religion and customs as ours, and that those who are different than us have the same appreciation for their family’s religion and customs. It is not always easy for me to do this, but I try.
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