Hanukkah

 I realize Hanukka ended Sunday, but as I’m just getting this blog site started, I’m including this blog about the holiday.  I hope you find this interesting, fun and informative.

The Jewish Festival of Hanukka is celebrated from December 2 to December 10^th.   “Hanukkah (Chanukah) is a Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. It is also known as the Festival of Lights.”  Wikipedia The name means “dedication” and celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple.

 “In the second century BCE, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of mitzvah observance and belief in God. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of God.

When they sought to light the Temple’s Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, they lit the menorah, and the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.

To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah.”

https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102911/jewish/What-Is-Hanukkah.htm

Fun Fact: Interesting facts:

Hanukkah is the eight-day “Festival of Lights.” Each day, a candle is lit in the menorah, special prayers are recited, foods fried in olive oil (latkes) sweet jam filled donuts, and potato pancakes are offered and one gift per day is exchanged. “Hanukkah represents resistance, freedom, and national liberation, and is sure to be a memorable week filled with lots of light, prayer, gifts, and feasting.”

http://blog.mangolanguages.com/4-interesting-facts-about-hanukkah-you-may-have-not-known

https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102978/jewish/The-Story-of-Chanukah.htm

Children’s toy: Dreidel is Yiddish for “spinning top.” “A dreidel is . . . A four-sided top which can be made to spin on its pointed base. Dreidels are normally made of plastic or wood, though there are silver or glass “designer dreidels” available on the market, usually intended for display purposes.”

https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/603267/jewish/What-Is-a-Dreidel-Sevivon.htm