Celebrating Hanukkah - The Festival of Lights
Hanukkah, of the “Festival of Lights” is an eight-day Jewish holiday that falls sometime between November and December each year.
Written by Megan Ryan, Regional HR Manager - Olympic Steel (Bedford Heights, OH)
Hanukkah, or the “Festival of Lights,” is an eight-day Jewish holiday that falls sometime between November and December each year. The dates change slightly, because Jewish holidays follow the Lunar Calendar. The holiday commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century BCE.
Following Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BCE, his territory was divided by five of his top generals. Seleucus, the general who garnered the most territories, tried to merge Eastern and Western culture, causing increased tension between religious groups. From 167 to 160 BCE, a revolutionary group called the Maccabees (translated to “the hammers”) fought against the Seleucid Empire and were eventually able to claim Jerusalem and with it, reconsecrate the Temple of Jerusalem.
After spending days clearing out and refinishing the ruined temple, the Maccabees celebrated this rededication to God by lighting a Menorah, an oil-based, multi-pronged candelabrum with seven stems (one for each day of Creation) and a central stem used to light each of the other seven. As the story goes, the Temple of Jerusalem’s menorah had enough oil for just one day but, once lit, miraculously burned for eight whole days.
Today, Hanukkah menorahs (also known as “Hannukiahs”) have 9-prongs - eight to signify the eight nights the oil stayed lit and one higher main stem to light each of the others. Part of the multi night celebration includes foods that feature oil – fried jelly donuts (“sufganiyot”), fried potato pancakes (“latkes”) and other fried foods.
Similar to other religious holidays focused on light, Hanukkah is a time to rejoice. Modern day celebration includes gift-giving, family feasts, and a game played with a dreidel, or top. While not considered the holiest of holidays in Jewish culture, Hanukkah falls during a time of year that other cultures are also celebrating joyous occasions, such as Christmas and Kwanzaa. Hanukkah’s celebration of light is a theme that can be seen throughout other religions, and with lots of food and fun games, it is a way for people of all cultural backgrounds to come together to share gifts and time with loved ones.
