Today starts the Jewish holiday. Chanukah, “The Festival of Lights.” Both spellings are correct; however, the Chanukah spelling is traditional.
I thought a bit of history might be appropriate today; I hope you will enjoy it.
Chanukah means “dedication” in Hebrew. The eight-day holiday celebrates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after it was retaken by the Maccabees (a group of Jewish warriors) from the Greeks in the 2nd Century BCE.
According to the Talmud (the body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law and legend), when Judas Maccabaeus captured the Second Temple of Jerusalem, upon entering the temple, he found only a small jar of oil that had not been defiled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The jar contained only enough oil to burn for one day. Still, miraculously it burned for eight days, just long enough until new consecrated oil was made available, establishing the precedent that the festival should last eight days. (Side note, there was always a light to be burning in the temple, and it was the priest’s job to see it continuously lit.)
Judas Maccabaeus was a Jewish guerrilla leader who defended his country (Israel) from invasion by the Seleucid (empire of ancient Greece) king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, preventing the imposition of Hellenism (Greek religion) upon Judea, and preserving the Jewish religion. Britannia.com
The celebration falls each year on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev (an autumn month which occurs in Nov-Dec and the 9th month on the Jewish calendar), which generally falls in December in the Gregorian calendar. National Today
The centerpiece of Chanukah is a candelabra called the Menorah and holds nine candles. Eight candles symbolize the number of days that the temple lantern blazed; the ninth candle, the shamash, is the helper candle used to light the others.
Growing up, I remember Chanukah was always a beautiful celebration in my maternal grandparents’ home. I now see that some form of remembrance is placed on the family graves. That’s one of my stops today, the beautiful Jewish cemetery off Nehalem, where two people I adore lay resting. I, two neighbors, my sons, and their families will celebrate a Chanukah feast tomorrow evening, which also signifies the start of the Jewish Sabbath. I’m so excited; it’s my first; my grandma would be so proud!
I hope you enjoyed a bit of knowledge of my family heritage. Be blessed today. Be a blessing and thank you as always for joining me. 🥰
Sunshine On My Shoulder 