Happy Hanukkah!
Happy Hanukkah! Happy Chanukah! Take your pick... Tonight is the first night of the "Festival of Lights" which lasts for eight consecutive days (evenings). It is also known as the Feast of Dedication or the Feast of the Maccabees. It commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem by Judas Maccabee in 165 BC after the Temple had been defiled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the king of Syria. In 168 BC the Temple was seized and dedicated to the worship of Zeus and the Jews were ordered to worship Greek gods. Some of the Jews fought back
The fight started when a Greek officer and soldiers assembled villagers, asking them to bow to an idol and eat the flesh of a pig (forbidden). The officer asked Mattathias, a Jewish High Priest, to take part in the ceremony. He refused. Another villager stepped forward to take his place and Mattathias was ticked off, took out his sword and killed the man, then killed the officer. His five sons and the other villagers then attacked and killed the soldiers. Mattathias' family went into hiding in the nearby mountains, where many other Jews who wanted to fight the Greeks joined them. They attacked the Greek soldiers whenever possible.
Judas Maccabee and his soldiers went to the holy Temple, cleaned and repaired what they could, and when they were finished, they decided to have a big dedication ceremony. For the celebration, the Maccabees wanted to light the menorah. They looked everywhere for oil, and found a small flask that contained only enough oil to light the menorah for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. This gave them enough time to obtain new oil to keep the menorah lit. Today Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting candles in a menorah every night, thus commemorating the eight-day miracle.
Anyway, enough of the history lesson. I just like Jewish holidays. They are cool. They are so much more meaningful than our made up ones.... I mean, really, if you look at Christmas, it was just a made up catholic holiday so people would quit celebrating the winter solstice and crazy pagan rituals. At least Jewish holidays are commanded by God to observe.
What is even more cool is the Blessings the Jews say for Hanukkah......
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.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time.
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 fight started when a Greek officer and soldiers assembled villagers, asking them to bow to an idol and eat the flesh of a pig (forbidden). The officer asked Mattathias, a Jewish High Priest, to take part in the ceremony. He refused. Another villager stepped forward to take his place and Mattathias was ticked off, took out his sword and killed the man, then killed the officer. His five sons and the other villagers then attacked and killed the soldiers. Mattathias' family went into hiding in the nearby mountains, where many other Jews who wanted to fight the Greeks joined them. They attacked the Greek soldiers whenever possible.
Judas Maccabee and his soldiers went to the holy Temple, cleaned and repaired what they could, and when they were finished, they decided to have a big dedication ceremony. For the celebration, the Maccabees wanted to light the menorah. They looked everywhere for oil, and found a small flask that contained only enough oil to light the menorah for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. This gave them enough time to obtain new oil to keep the menorah lit. Today Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting candles in a menorah every night, thus commemorating the eight-day miracle.
Anyway, enough of the history lesson. I just like Jewish holidays. They are cool. They are so much more meaningful than our made up ones.... I mean, really, if you look at Christmas, it was just a made up catholic holiday so people would quit celebrating the winter solstice and crazy pagan rituals. At least Jewish holidays are commanded by God to observe.
What is even more cool is the Blessings the Jews say for Hanukkah......
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.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and
enabled us to reach this occasion.
posted by Mrs Edgey at 12/04/2007 10:00:00 PM
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