Chanukah or Hanukkah is usually celebrated in the second half of November though late December according to the Hebrew calendar, and this year it falls on the December 25. In the past 100 years this has happened in 1921, 1959, 2024, and then it will happen again in 2035, and 2054. It is not a religious holiday as such, but Jewish tradition has made it a minor one, or in other words it’s not in the Torah.
It is a celebration of remembrance of Judah and his four brothers (and they are called Maccabee) as they led the Jews in rebellion and victory over the Syrian-Greeks in the year 165. Judah was the eldest son of the priest Mattathias. The word Maccabee was the battle cry of Jewish patriots. Judah was a man of great strength. The book of Maccabee is part of the Apocrypha but not considered canonical by the Protestant Church, unlike the Catholic Church which considers it canon.
Why 8 days? After the battle it took 8 days to rebuild the altar of the temple which had been desecrated by the gentiles. All the sacred oil of the temple had been defiled except one jug which was still sealed and had the High Priest seal intact. This oil provides the light in the temple, it took 1 jug of oil for the lamps daily. But they proceeded to start to work. A miracle happened for the oil burned continuously for 8 days without fail, until more oil could be brought to the temple.
Jewish people celebrate the occasion over 8 days beginning on the 25 day of Kislev. They light one candle per night, for 8 consecutive nights. The reasoning behind this is that it is based on the principle that in matters of holiness one should add to or increase rather than diminish or decrease. They give gifts to their children to prevent them from feeling left out by our Christmas tradition.
How to set the candles and light them on the Menorah: the modern practice accepted today follows the tradition of giving equal importance to the right and left side of the menorah, indicating that Gods presence is everywhere. The candles are therefore inserted from the right to left, the newest addition to be on the left, but they are lighted from the left to right.
The Menorah is unlike a light that is placed in the house for everyone to be able to see, it is traditionally placed in a window for passersby’s to see and for everyone else to see that it stands for a miracle of Chanukah. A Menorah has a total of 9 candles and the one in the middle is called a Shamash. This candle is the servant and it is used to light the rest.
The process of using the servant candle is to light the newest candle first. Since the candles are inserted right to left then when you celebrate, you light the candle on the left first. Second night you light the newest candle then the one that was lighted the previous night. On each night you repeat the newest candle first then the others which had been lighted the night preceding, until on the 8th night all the candles will be lite using the same process as before, newest first then each always moving in the same direction.
The Menorah candlestick is used only for Chanukah. The difference between it and a Candelabra of the temple is the extra candles, 9 for the Menorah, 7 for the candelabra.
The reason for lighting the candles in the manner described above is to how the importance of the miracle during the altar rebuild. This year in 2024, the 25th day of Kislev starts at sundown on Wednesday, December 25, and goes on for 8 days.
When you first light or kindle the first candle on the first day of Chanukah, you are to recite 3 prayers on the first night and only 2 on each preceding night.
First prayer: Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the Chanukah light.
Second prayer: Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe,who preformed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time.
Third prayer: Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion.
The first two prayers pertain to the Menorah, and the kindling of the lights and the miracle of Chanukah. The third blessing is called “Shehecheyanv” is recited on the first night of all holidays. It expresses personal gratitude for being alive and well, and having lived to reach this day.
There are several other traditions in the celebration of Chanukah, but I will not go to the extent of writing them down at this time. You may research them yourselves at your good pleasure. They involve singing, card playing, prayers, gift giving, and eating- potato cakes, donuts, pancakes and cheese, ending with goose.
I hope you have enjoyed our little trip into this wonderful Jewish tradition of Chanukah or Hanukkah, both are correct by the way. This year is just about over and I hope your Christmas will be just the way you hope it will be. I love you all and as I always say at the end of my letters, Remember you will make it, just don’t give up.
In His Service As Kilted Priest
The Kilted Priest 