A Hanukah menorah is lit on each night during the festival of Hanukkah (Photograph: Gil Dekel)
Christmas, without fail, takes place every year on 25th December. Although not the exact (or even accurate) date of Jesus’ birth in Christianity, it is widely accepted as the symbolic date for his birthday and therefore the date Christmas is celebrated in most of the western world.
Hanukkah, however, is a Jewish festival and – like most Jewish festivals – runs on a lunar calendar as opposed to a solar one. Unlike the Gregorian calendar which we now use on a daily basis, the lunar calendar is shorter and so lunar dates tend to move by around 11-12 days each year against the solar calendar.
What this basically means is that the festival of Hanukkah (or ‘Chanukah’) begins later this year than it did last year, and coincidentally the first evening of the celebration (Jewish dates and celebrations start at sunset) has landed on the same day as Christmas Eve.
Because Hanukkah lasts eight nights, the overlapping of the two winter festivals isn’t as rare as you might think. What is a bit more rare, however, is for the first night to coincide with Christmas Eve or Christmas. The first night of Hanukkah last fell on Christmas Day in 2005, but Hanukkah has overlapped with Christmas or Christmas Eve as recently as 2011 and 2014.
Although traditionally a relatively minor Jewish holiday, Hanukkah has – by way of popular culture, the commercialisation and Americanisation of annual celebrations and due to it nearly always falling in December – become amplified by the prominence and dominance of Christmas in Europe and America.
Colorful dreidels on sale at a market in Jerusalem (Photograph: Adiel Lo)
But what is Hanukkah? Well, the eight-day observance essentially commemorates the rededication of the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire, celebrating the victory of the Maccabee brothers’ rebel army over Greek King Antiochus IV during the 2nd century.
The festival also celebrates the miracle that is said to have occurred when a small amount of oil apparently lasted for eight days in the rededicated Second Temple. Hence the eight days and nights of Hanukkah and the focus on oil-fried foods including doughnuts and potato pancakes.
Classic Hanukkah ‘Sufganiyot’ doughnuts filled with strawberry jam and covered in sugar (Photograph: Noam Furer)
For Simon Williams, Hanukkah is a time for family, friends and community (Photograph: Simon Williams)
Simon Williams is an English language teacher from Birmingham, currently living in Seoul, South Korea. He looks forward to celebrating Hanukkah with family and friends, while also acknowledging its cultural and historic significance.
“The festival isn’t a religious festival as such, it is more a token festival that complements the Jewish community, seen as a way to show our support for Simon Maccabee and reminds us that although we may feel safe living outside of Israel, there are many people who fall victim to racial hate,” explains Simon.
“Like many of our Muslim and other faith friends – we must sadly remain alert to being attacked for the beliefs we hold – so for me this year, Chanukah remains a time to be proud of who I am and my heritage whilst letting my Menorah be a reminder that still, the world struggles to deal with peace and love as a priority, for me, each angle represents an alternative view which blows in the wind with love.
President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle and Rabbi Rachel Isaacs join Chemi Peres and Mika Almog for the menorah lighting during Hanukkah reception #2 in the East Room of the White House, Dec. 14, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
“Chanukah is a family time for the Jews of Birmingham, we get together with our families to exchange gifts and use this a time to enjoy our many friends in this great city much like our friends and family in the city – we visit the German Market.
“This year we will share our festival period with our Christian friends and I guess this will add to our enjoyment as the city will be lit up for the national Christmas festivities. Chanukah for me – is a time to enjoy with family and friends, party hard, play hard and to value what we have.”
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Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, starts on the evening of Saturday 24th December 2016 and ends on January 1st 2017.
Adam Yosef
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