Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Monday, September 25
    Trending
    • This Day in History on September 25th
    • History Short: What the Heck is the Schmalkaldic League?
    • This Day in History on September 24th
    • History Short: Does God Punish the Faithful?
    • 10 Fascinating Events in History (Our 10 Most Popular Videos)
    • This Day in History on September 23rd
    • History Short: Can You Believe Anybody?
    • This Day in History on September 22nd
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History (articles)
      • This Day in History (categories)
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»December»December 13»December 13, 2017: What is Hanukkah?
    December 13

    December 13, 2017: What is Hanukkah?

    Major DanBy Major DanDecember 13, 2017Updated:June 26, 2020No Comments4 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    Hanukkah

    A Brief History

    On December 13, 2017, our Jewish friends celebrate the Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication, known better as Hanukkah.  Right off the bat, the confusion starts with the spelling of “Hanukkah!”  You may find this word spelled several different ways, so just pick the one you like.  No matter how you spell it, Hanukkah adds up to 8 Crazy Nights!

    Digging Deeper

    Celebrated to commemorate the founding of the Second Temple, Hanukkah rites center around an 8 candle candelabrum called a menorah, with a ninth candle holder holding a candle called a Shamash, usually in the middle of the others and raised above, sometimes above a Star of David.

    A hanukkiah, a menorah with nine branches

    The ritual lasts for 8 days and nights, during which amusements include children playing with dreidels and the eating of ethnic Jewish foods, with daily prayer services and blessings after meals.  There are no strictly banned activities during Hanukkah, unlike some other Sabbath type rituals.  It is also common for family members to exchange gifts during Hanukkah, so Christians should not feel sorry for their Jewish brethren during December!  Hanukkah songs and psalms are sometimes sung, and the faithful are allowed to go to work and school, although often some time is taken off for the celebrations.

    Hanukkah candles are to be burning for at least a half hour after dark.  The 8 candles, one used per day, commemorates the miracle of a one day supply of lamp oil lasting for 8 days during the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (built 516 BC, rededicated in 165 BC when the Jews overthrew the Seleucid rulers of Jerusalem), although the Hanukkah story and rituals were not written down until 6 centuries later.  (Note: The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD when the Romans put down a revolt by the Jews.  A pagan Roman temple was erected on Temple Mount, and later the invading Muslims erected the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the site in 705 AD. The Al-Aqsa Mosque and its Dome of the Rock still stand on Temple Mount.)

    With many religions and other groups celebrating a major holiday around the time of the Winter Solstice (Muslim November-December holidays usually come a bit earlier), Hanukkah has become a familiar part of the “Holiday” season, along with Christmas, Kwanzaa, Festivus (for the restofus!) and pagan observances of the Winter Solstice.  Like Christmas, in the United States Hanukkah has received some cultural references, acknowledged in books, movies, and the like, and sometimes in a not so reverent way.  The infamous Adam Sandler rendition of “The Chanukah Song” was such a hit on Saturday Night Live that he made 3 more sequel songs about the holiday and the people in our society that celebrate the Festival of Lights.  Comedy Central’s South Park cartoon also seldom misses a chance to poke fun at any particular religion, and the token Jewish kid character, Kyle, sings “The Lonely Jew at Christmas” song, and while Kyle sings “The Dreidel Song” his frenemy Cartman taunts him with his own anti-Semitic song, “Jews Play Stupid Games.”  If these goofy songs were not enough, there is even a spoof of the Outkast song, “Hey Ya,” called “Hanukkah Hey Ya” by comedian Eric Schwartz.  Traditional Hanukkah songs are joined by even more of these spoof type Hanukkah songs, so Christians have no corner on the market of winter holiday spoof songs (think, “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”).  Adam Sandler and his pals also produced an animated comedy motion picture in 2002 called Eight Crazy Nights.

    We wish all our readers, friends and relatives, and anyone else for that matter, a happy Winter Holiday Season for each of the celebrations and holidays new and old.

    Question for students (and subscribers): Do you have a favorite depiction of this holiday in popular culture?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Ashton, Dianne.  Hanukkah in America: A History (Goldstein-Goren Series in American Jewish History).  NYU Press, 2013.

    The featured image in this article, a Jewish new year card of a High Priest pouring oil over the menorah, is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 70 years or fewer.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleDecember 12, 1862: What Was the First Ship Sunk by a Remote Control Mine? (USS Cairo)
    Next Article December 15, 2017: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Movie Review
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    History Short: What the Heck is the Schmalkaldic League?

    September 25, 2023

    History Short: Does God Punish the Faithful?

    September 24, 2023

    History Short: Ali Wins Heavyweight Title for a Third Time!

    September 15, 2023

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on September 25th

    September 25, 2023

    History Short: What the Heck is the Schmalkaldic League?

    September 25, 2023

    This Day in History on September 24th

    September 24, 2023

    History Short: Does God Punish the Faithful?

    September 24, 2023

    10 Fascinating Events in History (Our 10 Most Popular Videos)

    September 23, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2023 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in .

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.