What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah 2021, also spelled Hanukah or Chanukah, is observed by Jews for eight days and nights to commemorate the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt in 165 BCE. It has been celebrated for more than 25 centuries.
Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar.
The Jewish day starts at sunset, which means that Hanukkah begins on different days throughout the year except when it falls out over a weekend.
The story of Hanukkah is told in the Book of I Maccabees, one of many books contained within what Christians call the ” Apocrypha,” meaning something hidden. It is an interesting and historically important book, but it’s not part of the Jewish Bible (the Hebrew Scriptures or Tanakh ). The account in I Maccabees 2: 1-15 outlines the events that led up to the revolt against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV (sometimes called Antiochus Epiphanes) and his attempt to suppress Judaism.
The Seleucids were a dynasty founded by one of Alexander the Great’s generals which ruled over much of Syria, Babylonia, Persia, and Mesopotamia from 312 BCE to 63 BCE. Their empire was conquered by Rome; however, they continued as client rulers for many years.
Hanukkah timeline is
a list of holidays and significant events that took place in the timeline of Hanukkah.
The first Hanukkah happened during the ancient Greco-Roman period, around 300 BCE (BC), as recorded in the First Book of Maccabees.
This is not about what we know today as Hanukkah, it’s just a story about why we celebrate this holiday. Change the tone of voice from “current year” to “timeline”. If you don’t know how long ago 300 BCE was, then say something like: “the ancient Greece and Rome”, instead of saying 3000 years ago. It’s not vital to give exact dates and years, just know that Hanukkah happened and its time period.
There were many devout Jews living in the land of Israel but under Roman rule.
Be specific about who these people are – Jews or Romans? If they’re both, then say “devout Jews and Roman citizens”. Also, add where this event is taking place (the land of Israel) because it’s often known as Palestine (which is a modern-day word).
Change the tone of voice from “current year” to “timeline”. While we can’t know exactly what was going on in this part of history unless we look at primary sources like The First Book of Maccabees and histories written by the Romans, these events are known to have happened around 200 BCE – 100 BCE.
At this time in history, the Greek-speaking Seleucid Empire had control over Israel after Alexander the Great’s empire split into four separate kingdoms.
The tone of voice is “timeline”. Historians believe that Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ takeover of Jerusalem was helped by the Hellenized Jews – Jews who adopted Greek culture instead of strict adherence to Jewish law. The Maccabean revolt managed to win back independence for Judea but only for a short while before they were under King Herod’s rule.
Hanukkah Traditions
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrated for 8 nights. It commemorates the story of an ancient miracle in which everyone found out that there was one day’s worth of oil left to burn for everyone to light the menorah.
The candles represent freedom and victory over hardship. The tradition is to place them in a candelabrum called a Menorah together with nine candles, eight candles on the outside, and one candle in the middle. The candle in the middle [representing light] is lit first [after nightfall, when it’s dark]. Everyone says blessings and then the other candles are lit from that one. There also must be enough lights so that you can see what you’re doing without having to turn on any other lights. This way it’s supposed to be like the miracle of one day’s worth of oil lasting eight days.
Hanukkah is not only celebrated with gifts and by decorating, but also with song and dance. The most well-known Hanukkah song is called dreidel, dreidel, dreidel which tells the story of how Jews would play dreidel as they were hiding from foreign rulers who wanted to kill them because their religion was different than the other people in that land.
There are many popular traditions surrounding Hanukkah that relate to specific aspects within this story. For example, eating foods fried in oil during Hanukkah shows gratitude for one day’s worth of oil lasting eight days. The foods fried in oil, such as doughnuts and potato pancakes, are also flavored with sugar or cinnamon to represent the sweetness of life during harsh times.
How do you celebrate Hanukkah?
The candles represent freedom and victory over hardship. The tradition is to place them in a candelabrum called a Menorah together with nine candles, eight candles on the outside, and one candle in the middle. There are many popular traditions surrounding Hanukkah that relate to specific aspects within this story. For example, eating foods fried in oil during Hanukkah shows gratitude for one day’s worth of oil lasting eight days. How do you celebrate Hanukkah? Tell us in the comments below.
“How do you celebrate Hanukkah?” Answer: We light the menorah every night for eight nights. We drink latke, which are potato pancakes fried in oil. The menorah has eight candle holders representing the miracle of one day’s worth of oil lasting for eight days.
Hebrew calendar | Jewish calendar
In the Hebrew calendar, Hanukkah is observed from sunset on the 25th day of Kislev until nightfall on the 4th day of Tevet since it starts in the month of Kislev. In the Jewish calendar, the 25th day of Kislev in Hebrew corresponds to December 9th of our Gregorian calendar, which is when American jews celebrate Hanukkah with family and friends around their dinner tables with a menorah.
From a different perspective, since this important Jewish holiday falls during wintertime in America, Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights because it offers a sense of wonder and celebration with its beautiful blazing lights.
Festival of lights
The festival of lights is a celebration that occurs every year during the same month. In the Western world, it takes place in December while for others, it falls on the Hebrew calendar date of Kislev 25th to Tevet 10th. It is because of this reason that some people associate beautiful and many special memories with them which leads to them being very fond of it.
This is a celebration that has been influenced by the ancient Greeks and Romans in about 167 BC with them being adopted from Egypt. It was during this time that Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes wanted to bring back worshiping the Greek gods hence he outlawed Judaism.
What are Hanukkah foods?
Hanukkah foods are foods that are made especially for the Hanukkah holiday. Most of them include ingredients that represent or symbolize an aspect of Hanukkah. Foods that contain nuts, which don’t go with the traditional potato pancake (latke), are particularly common in this category.
#- How do you make latkes?
To make latkes (potato pancakes) you need to use potatoes, eggs, onions, salt, and pepper. You should put chopped onion into a bowl with grated or finely diced potato. When using very small potatoes like baby ones it’s better not to peel them first but if you’re making normal-sized ones then it’s best to peel them first because they will be hard to grate otherwise. You should add salt and pepper to taste and mix it together with your hands. Then you need to add the egg, again mix it all up with your hands.
After adding the egg, make sure not to leave it for too long before frying the latkes because the egg will cook in that time and that’s not what we want. If you like adding another ingredient (for example parsley) then this is a good place to do so but don’t forget that you can’t use butter or oil while frying something made from eggs because of Jewish dietary laws (HALAL).
#- How many people does one pack of latkes serve?
You’ll get about 12 pancakes from potatoes. It depends on how big they are but on average that’s how many you get. So while cooking just cooks one pancake at a time.
#- What is another traditional food of Hanukkah?
One of the most popular Hanukkah foods is doughnuts. People usually deep fry them for Hanukkah because oil was used in the story of Hannukah. It also represents the Oil of Miracles which burned for eight days instead of only one, like regular oil would have done for all those years. There are different types of doughnuts but chocolate-covered are probably the most popular ones these days.
#- What do you need for doughnuts?
You need water, flour, yeast, cream or milk, sugar or vanilla sugar, butter or margarine, and nutmeg as well as different kinds of jam. You heat up a big bowl with water and make sure it’s not too hot so you can put your hands in it afterward without burning yourself. Then you add yeast until all ingredients are well mixed together. Add flour until there’s no more liquid left inside the bowl but don’t overdo it with the flour either.
When the dough is left, place it on a flat surface and knead it together for about 10 minutes. Shape the dough into round balls and leave them to rest for about 20 minutes so they can grow in size again. Put some oil in a frying pan or use an electric deep fryer if you have one at home.
the doughnuts are fried (leave them to drain after taking out of the pan), you can make small holes with something like an apple corer because when they rise up again after frying, this will be gone. It’s also nice to put jam or chocolate inside before they go back down or leave them plain but they taste best when warm (and fresh!).
History of Hanukkah
In the Hebrew calendar, Hanukkah is celebrated for 8 days beginning on the 25th day of Kislev. It commemorates the rededication of The Temple in Jerusalem following a Jewish military victory over Greek rulers.
Hanukkah is an annual holiday that lasts for eight days and nights, starting on December 25th and ending sometime during January 1st. In Judaism, it commemorates the legend about how a small container of oil was enough to light a menorah for one day but burned miraculously for many more. This article details those events as found in the Tanakh, known as The Bible by Christians.
When is Hanukkah 2021?
Hanukkah 2021 will be here before you know it! In fact, Hanukkah begins on December 12th. The holiday lasts eight days, ending on December 20th.
Although the exact date of Hanukkah varies from year to year, Hanukkah is always within a few days of late November and early December.
The Jewish calendar is a lunar-based calendar, meaning that the beginning and end of each month depending on when the moon is sighted. Since this calculation cannot precisely predict future movements of the sun and moon, holidays are usually celebrated slightly earlier or later than their exact dates in our solar calendar. This variance accounts for why some observances begin late and others do not begin until early December.
The Hebrew date of Hanukkah is Kislev 25, 5251. The first day of Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (Kislev has 30 days). This particular date can occur any year between November 24th and December 12th. If you want to learn more about which years this occurs, look here:
Hanukkah will be celebrated next on December 13, 2020;
on December 11, 2021;
on December 9, 2022;
on December 7, 2023;
on December 6, 2024;
and so forth… It will be celebrated again for eight straight nights beginning on November 29, 2025
Hanukkahs Around the World
Every year, the 8th of Kislev falls during the month of December or January. The date is different every year because of the Jewish calendar’s unique lack of fixed dates, but Hanukkah itself is always on the same day: 25 Kislev on that calendar.
For those new to the holiday, it commemorates a victory over Greek forces by having enough oil for one day stay lit for eight days. This has led to many parodies about how much longer it would take to get through one’s gifts.
Families gather around menorahs – nine-branched candelabras – and light candles each night for eight nights in honor of this miracle.
The Jewish population in Israel has been growing steadily despite tensions with Palestine and, while the internet has made it harder for Jews to see one another face to face, this holiday is still a time when many families who have been separated can get together. In addition, due to increased tensions with other countries in the Middle East, some Jewish readers might be interested in knowing how other Hanukkahs around the world are going.
In Cairo, Egypt, celebrations have been low-key so far. According to Rabbi Weiss from Temple Sinai, “No attacks or anything like that yet but we’ve heard that there’s talk of something happening on the 14th”.
Meanwhile in Amman, Jordan – where tensions between Jews and Muslims tend to run high – families continue their celebrations as normal. The Royal Palace lit a menorah in honor of the holiday. One man told CNN reporters that “I used to be afraid to celebrate Hanukkah but recently I feel like people are starting to understand what it means.”
More stories about Israel were promised by the Israeli government today. However, analysts predict they will most likely focus on how well they handled a recent chemical spill or resettling African refugees into Jewish neighborhoods instead of actual military action.
You might also like more about Hanukkah in 2021
Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights. This Jewish holiday lasts eight days and falls between Thanksgiving to Christmas in America each year. The Jewish holiday marks a historical event that occurred between the Greeks and the jews when jews took back their temple from Greek soldiers who were occupying Jerusalem.
There are two different accounts of this story, one being that it was in 165 BC by General Judah Maccabee, after he led a small army in defeating King Antiochus IV in guerrilla warfare.
The other account claimed it was in 164 BC by General Mattathias Antigonos during the cleansing ritual for which jews perform on temples before entering them. Either way, there was a Jewish victory.
In the Jewish tradition, there is a story about how jews began to celebrate this significant event in history by lighting candles of oil for eight nights after they managed to cleanse the temple.
When the menorah was lit, it stood as a symbol of their cleansing and victory against Greek soldiers who had occupied Jewish land for so long.
Today, Hanukkah is more popularly known as the Festival of Lights. In America, Jews have been celebrating Hanukkah for hundreds of years now with family members and friends during winter time each year on December 24th, but different countries around the world celebrate Hanukkah on different dates because not all calendars are Jewish-made.
FAQ
How is Hanukkah celebrated?
Hanukkah (or Chanukah, Hanukah, etc.) is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire of the 2nd-century B.C.E.. Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar (which usually falls between November 26 and December 24), which is observed for eight nights and days.
The first night of Hanukkah — called the “first night” or “little” Hanukkah to distinguish it from subsequent ones, is widely celebrated within Jewish communities by most lighting an additional candle on an already lit menorah. The unique day of the first night is often celebrated with special prayers, songs, and games. Children are given several Hanukkah gelt coins, which are similar to chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil.
Gelt means money in Yiddish, so each child gets a small amount of money, which is symbolic of the Hanukkah “gelt” (money) given to Judah Maccabee and his brothers by their mother after finding them in the temple.
Hanukkah lasts eight days because it commemorates an event that happened in the Jewish month of Kislev approximately 2,160 years ago.
Hanukkah Recipes to Try
Hanukkah is a festival that’s all about delicious food. Whether you are joining the family gathering or hosting your own, there are some delicious recipes to try out. The first Hanukkah recipe is for delicious latkes, which are potato pancakes.
These delicious treats can be served as an appetizer, main dish, or dessert! Watch this youtube video for delicious latke recipes. For delicious dessert shwarma, you must have a delicious chocolate mousse cake with delicious raspberry jam.
When is Hanukkah?
is a question that seems simple to answer, but can be complicated. Most people know Hanukkah takes place in the winter and lasts eight days.
Who celebrates Hanukkah 2021?
Hanukkah is celebrated by people of the Jewish faith or people who are part of the Jewish culture.
What are the 8 days of Hanukkah for?
Many people are curious to know. This question is answered by Rabbi Huna, who said that the eight days of Hanukkah celebrate the end of the persecution by Antiochus IV.
The second book of Maccabees states this clearly:
” And when they had torn down the altar, they used its stones and timber to build a monument for themselves, making it like the altar of Zeus; Also they built an enclosure around the site, erecting around it a great enclosure for an eternal memorial. Then they promptly took up theagagah , according to the king’s commandment, and made a large sacrifice, hundreds of oxen for all the people present. And they ate and drank, rejoicing in their feast.”
More About Hanukkah
There are potato pancakes, known as Latkes, that are typically eaten during Hanukkah. The ingredients that are required to make the latkes are potatoes, eggs, oil/vegetable oil, and onions. These are mixed together in a few different ways. Some people make them thin, while others prefer making them thick. Another tradition that is closely related to Hanukkah is the lighting of the menorah. This is done by placing a candle in each holder of the menorah with one extra space. The menorah holds nine candles since there are eight nights of Hanukkah, but it also has an additional candle at the top which signifies the ninth day.
Some people light the menorah with a certain order to the candles, while others place them in no particular order.
Hanukkah is celebrated as an eight day Jewish holiday that begins on Kislev 25 and lasts until December 5th or 6th. The word Hanukkah actually means “dedication”; this is because Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The Hanukkah holiday began after Judah Maccabee and his Jewish followers won a battle against the Seleucid King Antiochus IV, who was trying to outlaw Judaism. After this victory, their temple was cleansed and rededicated.
Although Hanukkah is celebrated in several ways, one thing that all Jews do differently is acknowledged the miracle of Hanukkah. And although it can be difficult to overcome things such as persecution and hard times, there are still small miracles that happen every day.
Hanukkah is often confused with Christmas when in fact the two holidays are very different. Hanukkah or Chanukah lasts eight nights, instead of twelve like Christmas. It also occurs at a much different time of year than Christmas. The dates vary each year but generally fall around early November. This year it begins on Sunday November 28.
Also unlike Christmas, Hanukkah only lasts for one day in Israel. The sundown of the eighth night is when Hanukkah officially ends. Outside of Israel, the holiday continues until sundown on the last day.
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple after it was ransacked by Syrian Greeks in 164 BCE during the war. Soldiers from Antiochus’ Hellenic army had desecrated all religious items within the temple and defiled it with swine blood before they set fire to it completely. Judah Maccabee led his brothers into battle but they were still heavily outnumbered against their oppressors.
It seemed as if all hope was lost until they discovered a small vial of oil with the seal of the High Priest. They quickly recognized this as a one-day supply to light the menorah, or lampstand, for one day. This gave them enough time to get more oil but when they returned to find the lamp-lit miraculously for eight days, it became a symbol of divine intervention.