A Hanukkah Primer

A Quick Reference for Non-Jews

Two coincidences lead many non-Jews (and some uninformed Jewish people) to think of Hanukkah as being a Jewish version of Christmas. The points in common are indisputable: They both fall during the winter (Christmas on December 25 on our modern calendar and the celebration of Hanukkah on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar.) As winter observances, they both have something to do with lights as have all celebrations and holidays since time immemorial. Most of the other things that people sometimes think they have in common are founded in incorrect assumptions. Christmas is, at its core, a religious observance of the birth of Jesus Christ. Hanukkah is the commemoration of a historic military event in the history of the Jewish people.

The coincidence of season is probably the key element in the always erroneous idea that Hanukkah is a Jewish version of Christmas. In the first place, it is not even a 'religious' holiday - It is more akin to the American observance of Veteran's Day (née Armistice Day) in that it recalls an important military struggle and victory. Specifically, Hanukkah recalls the victory of the Maccabee family and their followers (led by Judah) over the Hellenistic Syrians in a revolt that took place around 165 BCE (note: Jews use BCE--Before the Common Era and CE--the Common Era instead of BC and AD). The battle ended in the Jewish forces restoring their temple that had been defiled by the Syrians to its appropriate condition.

The Hanukkah stories are not found in the Bible at all, but are taken from a combination of latter writings and stories passed down in the oral tradition from one generation to the next. There is no written account at all, as it turns out, of the 'miracle' of one day worth of oil burning for eight days, nor is it clear where the spinning-top game of Dreidel came to be associated with Hanukkah.

The coincidence of calendar is just that. They are different and, in relation to Christmas, Hanukkah will sometimes be said to come 'early' or 'late.' Some years, Hanukkah begins on Christmas Day - while on others it begins as early as November or as late as January.