Why I Decided to Celebrate Hanukkah This Year.

So, if you are reading this post, then you already know that I have decided to celebrate Hanukkah this year. Now, your first thought is probably, “Chadd I thought you were Christian. Shouldn’t you be celebrating Christmas?” To that question, you’re right. I am Christian. I practice Christianity. I am also still celebrating Christmas this year, trust.

However, this year, I have been studying different religions in my own time. I absolutely love learning about religions. Religion is one of those things that really interests me. There has to be some truth to every religion, otherwise, why would anyone believe. So for me, I look for those truths. I think that believing in something is one of the most beautiful things ever.

With this, I realized that I don’t really know much about the Jewish religion or the holidays that they celebrate. I mean, the Jews play such a big part in world history, and in Christianity, and I hardly know anything about what they believe. So, I decided that I wanted to celebrate Hanukkah. I wanted to learn all about why people celebrate Hanukkah. What is the meaning? What is the belief?

Of course, I wasn’t just going to research it. I had to go all in. I wanted to fully celebrate the holiday. So, I said, I am going to celebrate it. I bought my little gold menorah to match my Christmas decor, and I went to town researching this holiday. Here is what I have learned about Hanukkah:

Hanukkah is an eight day celebration often called Festival of Lights. Hanukkah is a celebration of the dedication of the Holy Temple. So, apparently Israel was under the greek control at one point (are we surprised?). Well, of course when a country takes over, it wants to force it’s culture and beliefs on the people it just conquered (gag me with a spoon, disgusting). Well the greeks wanted to force their beliefs on the Jews. However, a small army of Jews, lead by Judah the Macabee conquered the Greeks.

This meant that the Jews had reclaimed their Holy Temple. So when they did this, they had to light the Menorah in the temple. It was a ritual, something sacred to them. However, the Greeks had contaminated the Holy oil. They were only able to find even pure Holy oil to burn for one day. However, that oil burned for EIGHT days. Wow! Incredible! This eight day burning period allowed the Jews to consecrate more oil. It was a miracle!

Now, Jews across the world celebrate Hanukkah to commemorate the miracle of the oil. How do they do this? Jews have their own menorahs in their homes. Each night, you light a new candle in remembrance of the eight days. Prayers are said throughout the week, with each night having a new special prayer, often sung.

Since this is also a celebration of oil, many Jews eat a lot of foods cooked in oil during these eight days. One popular one is called latkes, which are potato pancakes. They look pretty delicious and I’m going to have to try some.

In later years, Jews have started to add gift giving. Some people celebrate this by giving a gift each night of Hanukkah. I decided that I don’t need any gifts this year so I am forgoing this part of the celebration.

Anyways, I am continually learning new things about Hanukkah and the Jewish religion. I am also having a great time celebrating it this year.