This week is Hanukkah. I am not Jewish and I don't know any Jewish people (at least not to my knowledge) but I figure that if The Festival of Lights and Dedication was good enough for Jesus, its probably worth celebrating at least a little bit.
I have never really looked into Hanukkah before. My mom always suggested we celebrate it, but it never really went anywhere. I know the miracle that is being celebrated, and I know that dreidel, latkes, and menorahs are some staples of the holiday. So I decided to look into it a little bit.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that the story of Judah Maccabee is not IN the Bible (this shouldn't have been a surprise to me, I have read the first five books of the Bible which I am fairly sure is the Torah and it wasn't in there at all)! Apparently it happened after the Old Testament and before the New Testament. I guess some Catholic Bibles contain the story, and old Bibles used to (before 1611 or something like that). However in John 10:22-23 it says:
And it was at Jerusalem the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter.
I have never really looked into Hanukkah before. My mom always suggested we celebrate it, but it never really went anywhere. I know the miracle that is being celebrated, and I know that dreidel, latkes, and menorahs are some staples of the holiday. So I decided to look into it a little bit.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that the story of Judah Maccabee is not IN the Bible (this shouldn't have been a surprise to me, I have read the first five books of the Bible which I am fairly sure is the Torah and it wasn't in there at all)! Apparently it happened after the Old Testament and before the New Testament. I guess some Catholic Bibles contain the story, and old Bibles used to (before 1611 or something like that). However in John 10:22-23 it says:
And it was at Jerusalem the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter.
And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s Porch.
So there is some recognition of it in the Bible.
This link will take you to an amazing article about Hanukkah for Christians and the many links between Hanukkah traditions and Christ. I found it really interesting. It makes me want to get Michael on board and get a Menorah and really celebrate!
Today I decided I would read the girls a Hanukkah book that I have. It actually was pretty boring, but it was better than nothing, and it the back it had the story of Hanukkah so I thought that was good.
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| It has a very creative title... |
I also decided to make latkes. I have never made, or even seen latkes before, so I have no idea how they turned out. They kind of tasted like hashbrowns, with some onion. Which basically is what they are. They were just potatoes, grated onion, salt, egg, and flour fried in olive oil. Here are the pictures I took. If you happen to know what they are SUPPOSED to look like and would like to critique them, this is one time that constructive criticism won't upset me.
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| The "batter". Weirdly this turned a purply-black after it sat on the counter for awhile... Very pretty and kind of scary. |
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| How they looked while frying. The odd shape isn't really a surprise. My pancakes are usually football shaped too. |
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| After frying... |
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| The only one that came out kind of "pancakey" was the last one. I think its because it had more of the egg in it since I poured it in instead of scooping it. |
One last Hanukkah note: My mom works at World Market and they only have ONE Hanukkah item in their store (they also only have ONE Christmas ornament relating to Christ, and not a nativity in sight). It is a Jewish rubber duck. Target has one end cap of Hanukkah decorations. As opposed to the mass onslaught of Christmas items. At first I thought this was too bad, then I realized that perhaps they just have not completely sold out their holiday to mass merchandisers... Not that I don't LOVE Christmas decor, but it has gone a little over the top I think.
I do think Christmas can be a bit over the top.
ReplyDeleteI do feel badly that there isn't more Hanukkah stuff. I do wonder if Jewish families actually decorate for the holiday the way we decorate for Christmas.
we should all make it a personal challenge to spend more on giving (other than christmas presents) than we do on decorations.
It's definitely difficult to remember.
I don't know if Jewish people decorate like we do... If they do I give them mad props because they must make all their decorations! Or maybe Hanukkah stuff is more abundant in other parts of the country?
DeleteThis year we failed MISERABLY at the giving vs. decorations ratio, because outdoor Christmas lights are very expensive it turns out.
I'm jumping into this late, but I'm Jewish and just stumbled on this post, so I figured I'd answer:) The short answer is that Chanukah is just not a major holiday for Jews the way Christmas is for Christians. It's one of many, many holidays that we celebrate all year, so if we had to have a whole decorations arsenal for each holiday, that would be a lot! Most of us decorate if we're having a Chanuka party, and maybe do some minimal decorating throughout the holiday, but nowhere near the extent of Christmas decorating that I see.
ReplyDeleteIn my own case, I got some Chanuka decor items from Party City and mixed them in with silver, gold and navy elements I had from my general decor and even scrapbooking stash. I also used gelt and dreidels in my decor. I have some photos on my blog of our party setup.
That makes sense. We probably just blow it out of proportion because it is so close to Christmas. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I moderate all comments, so even if a post is a few years old, I will totally read whatever you have to say on it.
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