Hanukkah Part 1

Happy Hanukkah! Have you heard this and not really known what it means? Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) is an 8-day celebration that falls around Christmas time. The reason the date is movable is that it is based on the Hebrew calendar, beginning on the 25th of Kislev. The Hebrew calendar is lunar (related to the moon) and thus Hanukkah can fall anywhere between November 28th and December 26th. This year it falls between December 16 and 24. That means it is already in full swing. It is not a major holiday in the Jewish culture but it does have quite an elaborate set of traditions associated with it, and it does have a significant origin. While its origin is not biblical like most Jewish holidays, it is indeed mentioned in the Bible. The event it commemorates fell between the Old and New Testaments, thus the surprising fact that this strictly Jewish celebration is found only in the New Testament. The word Hanukkah means “dedication” and it is mentioned in a key passage in the gospel of John, one in which Jesus makes a clear claim to deity. John 10:22-31 (NIV): “Then came the Feast of Dedication [Chanukah] at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’ “Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him ….” Jesus’ mention of miracles fits with the Hanukkah theme. In the next post we’ll look at the meaning of the celebration — what it commemorates — and learn why it is also called the festival of lights.