F6: Chanukah

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An overheard conversation.

"I do love this time of year. Getting dark early, freezing mornings, rustling leaves and fireworks. It also means that Christmas is around the corner. I should start buying things now...Oh I'm sorry, I forgot you don't celebrate it"

"Oh don't worry it doesn't bother me. Anyway, I do kind of celebrate it. Christmas is everywhere, even if you don't have the family get together and do the church bit. The TV's great and all the shops are playing carol music. Everyone is noticeably friendlier...I kind of join in with the general hustle and bustle of the season. It's lovely and I do look forward to it. Anyway, we also have our own festival around this time of year, which is quite similar in many ways".

"Similar? In what way? Nativity plays with baby Moses in a stable, visited by three wise Rabbis bringing spices and chicken soup?"

"Alright, it's not quite Christmas...but there are similarities. Our Chanukah festival happens at the same time of year as Christmas and lasts a few days. It has become quite family centred and people do give each other presents and play festive games. No holly, although we do light festive lights and eat fattening foods. Some of these customs seem to have been adopted due to the influence of Christmas."

"It seems like your Chanukah is a kind of Christmas substitute"

"In a way I suppose it is."

''Not quite Christmas'. 'A substitute'? There must be more to Chanukah then that. But then how come there are so many similarities between the two? Are these similarities just the result of coincidence or to make people feel better because they are missing out on the mistletoe? This chapter of the Jampacked Bible takes another look at the festival of Chanukah and tries to place it in the context of the festive season by suggesting the similarities may not just be the result of coincidence or sympathy but something more fundamental. Controversial? Well, a little...but there may be more to this then meets the eye.

Two sources

In typical A level style, compare and contrast the following two sources:

Source A: "What is the reason for Chanukah? Our Rabbis have taught that on the twenty fifth of the month of Kislev commences the eight days of Chanukah...For when the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the oils in it. And when the Hasmonean dynasty defeated them, they made search and only found one cruise of oil which lay with the seal of the High Priest still intact. This cruise contained sufficient oil for one day's lighting only, yet a miracle happened and they managed to light the lamp for eight. The following year, these days were set aside for a festival of thanksgiving" (Talmud)

Source B: "During the time ....when the Greek rulers attempted to oppress the Jewish people and make them forget their religious practices, you God stood up for the Jews in their time of trouble...You handed the strong to the weak, the many into the hands of the few...and ensured a glorious victory for your people, Israel. Following this, your children came to your holy temple and cleaned up its rooms. They purified your temple and lit lights in your courtyard. They established these eight days of Chanukah in order to praise and give thanks to you." (Al Hanisim prayer; festive liturgy)

The two sources seem to be approaching the same event from such different angles. Source A concentrates on the miracle of the oil and sees Chanukah as a festival thanking God for providing this miracle. Source B concentrates on the military victory over the Greeks, and sees Chanukah as commemorating and giving thanks to God for a memorable success. Note particularly the role of the lights in Source B. No mention at all is made of any miracle; the lighting of the candles here represents the reestablishment of the Temple as a house of God. These two reasons are not contradictory although it is a little curious why each source stresses something else, without making reference to the other reason. Let's look at each reason in turn.

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