As it often happens, Christmas and Hanukkah overlap this holiday season. Hanukkah and Christmas both are traditional religious holidays, material as they often can be. Christmas, to many, is a secular celebration of sharing with family and friends. Hanukkah has kept its historical meaning for Jews; however, once a minor holiday, it has increased in significance (perhaps due to proximity to Christmas?).
Interestingly, the middle of winter has long been a time of celebration. Centuries before the birth of Jesus, Europeans celebrated in the darkest days of winter during the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, anticipating the soon to come extended hours of sunlight. Pagans celebrated winter solstice by bringing evergreen trees into their homes as proof that life still existed in the dark of winter. From a theological perspective, Hanukkah and Christmas have very different origins. What does the miracle of lamp oil have to do with the birth of a baby? I view them both as evidence that people through the centuries celebrated metaphors for light and hope purposely juxtaposing the holidays to the dark of winter.
The story of Hanukkah predates the birth of Christ as well as the celebration of His birth. Hanukkah itself is not mentioned in the Old Testament. Its only mentions are in Maccabees I and II. As a result, there is frequent argument about the exact details; however, the following is a synopsis of a highly accepted version.
“Antiochus, the Greek King of Syria, outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods. Most Jews were angry and decided to fight back. In 165 B.C.E, the Jewish Maccabees managed to drive the Syrian army out of Jerusalem and reclaim their temple. Hanukkah is the celebration ofthis victory. The Maccabees wanted to rededicate their temple by lighting the "eternal flame," but they only had enough consecrated oil to burn for one day. Miraculously, that little bit of oil lasted for eight days until more purified oil could be found.” [1]
Although to most Jews, Hanukkah (Chanukkah, Chanukah, Hanukah… optional spellings) means ‘Festival of Lights’ or ‘Dedication,’ a literal Hebrew translation is interesting. ‘Chanu’ means ‘they rested’ and the letters ‘kaf’ and ‘hay’ represent the 20th and 5th letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Put together, they make ‘they rested on the 25th.’
Hanukkah is celebrated on the 25th day of the 9th month of the Hebrew calendar (winter). Further, the 25th word in the Old Testament is Hebrew for light. Is it a coincidence that Hanukkah and Christmas are on the 25th? In any case, light is the central theme of the Jewish holiday. Christmas postdates Hanukkah by about 200 years. Originally, Christian churches celebrated Easter, but not Christmas. (Easter is still the most important religious holiday in the Catholic Church.) The Bible does not mention a date for Jesus’ birth (a fact Puritans later pointed out in order to deny the legitimacy of the celebration). Evidence suggests that His birth may have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?); however, Pope Julius I chose December 25. “It’s believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. Today, in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.” [2] (This could be the origin of the 12 days of Christmas )
The light of the Christmas celebration is somewhat metaphorical. The birth of Christ is viewed as God’s giving people the gift of His son. Jesus, of course, is seen as the light of humankind in that His coming and death offers the hope of salvation. That the story of the Nativity concludes with Wise men following the brightest star in the heaven to find Him, brings us full circle to a longing to look for light in the darkness.
Our family is fortunate enough to celebrate both holidays as a blended family of Jews and Catholics. My children were proud to learn about Jewish traditions. Bridget was the only student in her Cobb County class that knew the Dreidel song. She (the younger of the siblings) even raised her hand when the teacher asked if anyone was Jewish. :) The story of Sean’s emotional connection to his Jewish family, on the other hand, is both serious and telling.
In Middle School his Target (gifted) class watched a film about Auschwitz. He came home and asked me not to tell Glenn that kids in PE, after watching it, said they wanted to start a neo-Nazi group. What he didn’t tell me, his teacher later did. That evening, I got a call from his teacher asking me if Sean was okay. She proceeded to say that Sean came to her in tears to let her what he had heard. (Now, Sean was never one to tell on another…except maybe his sister… and was actually pretty popular and low key.) She then said to me: “Isn’t Sean Catholic?” I responded that I didn’t see the relevance of the question (probably politer than that). His compassion had nothing to do with his own religion, nor should it. He’d have been just as upset if the Smiths weren’t his family. That being said, his love of them and sadness about the cruelty of people and blatant prejudice brought him to tears. I was never a prouder mother.
In these days of contention around religion, sexual persuasion, political party, mental illness, etc., it’s worthwhile to take time to look for our light in the dark. First, I guess we have to find that part of the universe that reflects light on us and be willing to spread it in however we can. I think that’s what Sean and Bridget did in their own way. I only hope that I can emulate the innocence and kindness of my children.
May this season, whatever it means to you, bring you the joy of a brighter winter and a clearer vision of a way to fashion a brilliant New Year.