Meaning of Hanukkah (What is, Concept and Definition) - Meanings

Meaning of Hanukkah

What is Hanukkah:

Hanukkah, Hanukkah, Festival of Lights or Luminaria, is a Hebrew celebration that begins on Kislev 25 according to the Jewish calendar, and lasts for eight consecutive days, until Tevet 2.

In the Roman calendar, it is close to December 22, which coincides with the winter solstice. However, its meaning is based on a biblical account.

Indeed, the Hanukkah festival commemorates two concatenated events: the independence of the Jews from the Seleucid Greeks, and the purification of the second temple in Jerusalem, events that occurred in the time of the Maccabees.

The king of Syria, Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175 and 164 BC), had tried to Hellenize the Jewish people and force them to embrace paganism.

At that time, the leader Yehudá Maccabi had managed to capture the attention of a group of rebels, called Maccabees, who resisted the rulers and fought to defend their religious identity.

Although the fighting was unequal, as the Greeks outnumbered the Maccabees, little by little the Maccabees found a way to expel the Seleucids and regain control of the second temple in Jerusalem.

According to accounts in the Talmud, when the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem they found the temple desecrated. The menorah, a seven-branched candlestick that was supposed to be permanently lit, was unlit and contained very little sacred oil, barely enough for one day.

The oil purification process took about eight days, but despite this, the Maccabees preferred to turn on the light of the menorah as soon as possible. Surprisingly, the menorah kept burning by itself during the eight days of waiting, a fact that they attributed to a miraculous sign.

Since then, the Jewish people determined that they should celebrate the episode annually, as a way of giving thanks for the miracles granted to the defenders of the faith and, later, to the ancestors.

 

Hanukkah chandelier

The main symbol of Hanukkah is a nine-branched candlestick, called a hanukiah: four on each side and a larger one in the center. Each night of Hanukkah a light from the chandelier must be lit. Only the first day will be different because on this day two lights must be turned on: the light of the larger arm and one of the lights of the group.

This commemoration does not include prohibitions or restrictions of any kind so that it can be lived on a par with daily life without alterations. However, it is common for families to gather for dinner during these days to watch the lighting of the candles and to say their prayers.

 

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