The designs for the Menorah were given to Moses by God in Exodus 25 instructing them to make a seven stick golden candle that looked like a bush. Whereas Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, Hanukkah was being celebrated for centuries before Jesus was born, and it celebrates something entirely different.fantastic destinations for celebrating the festival of lightsDo Not Sell My Personal Information – CA ResidentsHanukkah commemorates the victory in 164 B.C. Whatever you do, do not make a practice of sending non-Christian Jews religious Christmas cards. He usually finds an ancient relief panel of people carrying a menorah. “Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter,” we’re told in John 10:22. But we cannot do so without respecting Hanukkah for what it is for the Jewish people and for what it means to them. The Meaning of Hanukkah. And the only person who is found celebrating Hanukkah in the Bible is Jesus. What the Bible says about Hanukkah ... About 300 years later, the celebration of Hanukkah—meaning "dedication"—arose from the Jews' attempts to cleanse the worship of God following Antiochus Epiphanes and the Greek army's defilement of the Temple during warfare. Some historians believe Josephus was referringHanukkah is celebrated by playing dreidel, singing celebratory songs, exchanging gifts, eating foods that remind us of the oil that burned for eight days at the Temple in Jerusalem (jelly doughnuts, potato latkes), and lighting the Hanukkiah (while chanting specified blessings). Because the lunar and solar calendars don’t line up precisely, Hanukkah can fall any time from late November to late December. Since the mezuzah is on the right side,The Jewish people continued to celebrate the Temple rededication annually, but it wasn’t until 250 years later that Hanukkah came to be known as a “festival of lights.” That’s when the Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, referred to it as such. of a group of Jewish people (the Maccabees) over the Syrian Greeks, who had been occupying the Land of Israel since before 167 B.C., which is when they destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and banned the practice of Judaism.

Christianity is engrafted on and continues to draw sustenance from the common root, biblical Israel (As noted earlier, Hanukkah is mentioned in the Gospel of John. The tax, which was voluntary in the first century and justified by Exodus 30:11 - 16, was requested of every Israelite male twenty years old or older.

. Learn about theseJesus, having been born into a Jewish family more than a century after the events described in Books 1 and 2 of Maccabees, would have celebrated Hanukkah along with his fellow Jews in the first century A.D.

“Sure, a mistake was made. That is simply because the holiday commemorates an event that occurred during the inter-Testamental period, approximately 165 BC. The Meaning of Hanukkah Goes Beyond 8 Nights of Gifts Some people think Hanukkah is the Jewish equivalent of Christmas because they happen around the …

The major ritual of the holiday is the lighting of a menorah (more accurately called aJust one problem. But people will understand that it was not intentional. On each of … There is no mention either of the holiday of Hanukkah, nor of the historical events that led to its establishment, in the Bible. Next, read about thesePlaying with dreidels, or spinning tops is one Hanukkah tradition for all ages. A Syrian King named Antiochus invaded the Jewish nation and demanded that my people abandon the God of Israel and His ways. for blasphemy—because you, being a man, make yourself God” (As but one example, every year at Hanukkah there is always some Christian who goes searching for an image of a menorah with which to greet his Jewish circle. Here are some32 fun facts you didn’t know about the holiday seasonThe 50 Hottest Holiday Gift Ideas from JCPenneyBecause Hanukkah and Christmas fall around the same time of year, people often wonder if Hanukkah is a Jewish version of Christmas. As Christians, we can celebrate the “Festival of Lights” as we rededicate our lives to Christ and acknowledge Him as the perfect and true light of this world.