8 Lesser Known Facts about Hanukkah : Did You Know?
Published · GiftBlooms
This world is a ‘unity in diversity’. The whole mankind consists of different groups of people. They differ in their language, their culture. But the most identifying difference we can notice is the religion. Religion has become an inseparable part of our everyday life. Every religion has their own special days they consider as holidays. Some religious holidays are so special that the whole world celebrates them. Christmas is one of them. A similar kind of festival is Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a famous Jewish festival that they celebrate on December 6th. The date of this 2000 year old Christian celebration differs from the Western calendar.
Here are a few lesser- known facts about the festival.
Hanukkah or Chanukah?
There has always been confusion in the name and the pronunciation. Jewish celebrate this festival of light in winter, in November or December. But the very confusion is with its name. Is it Hanukkah or Chanukah? Both of the names are of the same festival. As its pronunciation differs, so we come across these two different spellings. There is not a single right way to spell it.
Hanukkah Traditions
Traditions do change over time, but the essence remains the same. Hanukkah’s previous traditions was to lit an oil lamp and observe the festival for 8 days. Jewish tradition of giving coins or money as Hanukkah gifts was a European custom. There was a traditional game which both adults and children played. It’s name is ‘Dreidel’. It is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. Now things have changed. The gifts also include variety of things apart from chocolate coins. Online websites are in service of hanukkah gift delivery to places.
Why Lasts Eight Nights?
The belief and history say it was a festival of independence. They believe it was the victory of Jewish towards enlightenment. The reason for celebrating the festival for 8 long days has a miraculous history. The oil lamp/Menorah that the Jews lit on their victory day was not lit for one day. It somehow managed to keep burning for 8 long days. The number 8 has significance. There were 8 rods discovered in the temple. This was the Hasmonean explanation. According to the rabbinic explanation, it is like the 8 day festival of Sukkot. Sukkot was the festival of commemorating the Hasmonean era. Yet, the second explanation has not mention the miracle and lacks historical evidence.
Why is Hanukkah Celebrated?
The starting point of the celebration is way back to 2000 years. One belief is there that it was the Jewish celebration of defeating Greeks. The victory gave Jews the freedom to practice their religion without any restriction. The Greek king Antiochus put restriction on Jewish religious practice. He forced the Jews to bow down to his statue at the Jewish temple. Maccabees were a small group of people who fought against Greek. A three-year long battle rescued Jerusalem from Syrian people and freed the Jews. They celebrated their victory by lightening up an oil lamp, Menorah. It is one of the oldest symbols of Judaism. They ignited the lamp once, but it managed to keep burning for 8 days. So, if you wish to make aware of the importance and reason of Hanukkah, you can send hanukkah gift basket to your loved one with a message about this festival.
Why is Hanukkah celebrated on different dates?
The main reason to have Hanukkah on different dates is the calendar variation. The Hebrew calendar marks the 25th day of Kislov as Hanukkah. It is from early November to end December between which Hanukkah can fall. It covers from thanks giving to Christmas. The date of Christmas and Hanukkah converge on every 19th year.
Presents
As it is an 8 day long festival, the celebration is also huge. It is family time and exchange of many gifts including hanukkah cake delivery. ‘Hanukkah gelt’ is a traditional gift that dates 17th century. It means Hanukkah money, a practice of giving money to elders and chocolate coins to children. But after 1950s, the American tradition includes a variety of gifts to this occasion. There are cakes and chocolates along with Hanukkah gelts.
The Food
It is a customary festival of fried food. Potato Latke has become the quintessential food of Hanukkah. It is a potato pan cake eaten with matzo meal. But now, the traditions changed. Now, the Greek-Jews eat fried fish while Cochin-Jews eat fried-sweet cake. Lebanese Jews take deep cheese-fried pan cakes. And Sephardic Jews enjoy Spanish puff pastry.
The Holy festival of Hanukkah has many unknown facts that are like Christmas. The cake, the light and the religious significance are related to Christmas. It also needs the worldwide importance and celebration. Just need an awareness so that one can celebrate it as grand occasion. So, get the Lesser Known Facts about Hanukkah and make yourself enriched.
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