Chanukah is Not the Jewish Christmas

Over the years, I’ve met many people who believed that Chanukah was an opportunity for the Jews to pretend that they were celebrating Christmas. Actually, some Jews do try to practice Chanukah like the Christians practice Christmas, but they are misguided, I believe; after all, there is no religious faith beneath their activities. So for those people who still may hold this misunderstanding about the nature of Chanukah, I thought it was time to set the record straight.

First, let me say that I delight in this time of year, watching my Christian friends, particularly the religious ones, celebrating the Christmas holiday. I also love the decorations and the music, and often sing along. (I know some of you are rolling your eyes, but I enjoy the music.) And, maybe most of all, I love the sense of love and caring that permeates this time of year.

But let me explain the holiday of Chanukah. First, it is a minor holiday. It commemorates, with the lighting of the candles of the Chanukiah, the miracle of a single flask of oil in the temple burning not for one day, but for eight days. This occurred during the Jewish revolt of the Maccabees against the Syrians in the year 165 BC.

That’s it.

But because Jews live in dynamic, usually secular or Christian cultures, we sometimes adopt those observances. For example, sometimes gifts are given each night. In my family of birth, with limited resources, we received one “nice” gift (such as a blouse for me), and the other nights we received modest gifts, such as a hairbrush or candy. Some families put up a tree—we only did that once, and only once. It felt odd and inappropriate. My mother said we had to choose between Chanukah or Christmas—not very faithful, was she? But since as children we had eight nights to celebrate and receive gifts, however modest, we chose Chanukah.

These days I sometimes help a friend decorate her small artificial tree. But that is the extent of my decorating. I know some people put up blue and white streamers and ornaments for Chanukah, which my family did one year, but that was pretty much the conclusion of that practice.

The one tradition my husband and I have kept is lighting the Chanukah candles and saying the blessings over them each night. It gives me the opportunity to remember the Maccabees and their courage, just as we watch the Israelis battling Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. Each candle we light brings a symbolic light into the world, to remind us that each of us must continually fight against tyranny and darkness.

My husband and I also made a Chanukiah to display in our front yard, and we light off the artificial candles, too.

This year the first night of Chanukah is on December 25—that’s right! It will be as if the whole world will be celebrating traditions together that are precious to all of us.

May our holidays be joyous, poignant, and meaningful, bringing more and more light into the world.