“Hanukkah” means dedication in Hebrew, and the Jewish holiday, also known as The Festival of Lights, represents joy. It's punctuated by an eight-
night
display of dancing flames atop candles held in intricate menorahs, conveying warmth, comfort, and in Hanukkah's case, a miracle.
How do you explain the story of Hanukkah?
Hanukkah
commemorates a historical event that took place in Jerusalem in
the 2nd century BCE, when the Seleucid Greek empire was the ruling power. In 168 BCE, the king Antiochus IV Epiphanes outlawed Jewish practice and defiled the Jewish Temple in the city by installing an altar to Zeus Olympios and sacrificing pigs.
What is Hanukkah in simple terms?
Hanukkah is
a Jewish holiday
which celebrates the victory of the Maccabees over the larger Syrian army. It also celebrates a miracle that happened during this time, where just a day's supply of oil allowed the menorah (Hanukkiah or Hanukkah Menorah) in the rededicated Temple in Jerusalem to remain lit for eight days.
What are the three Hanukkah prayers?
The traditional Hanukkah candle lighting service consists of saying all three blessings on the first night, and only the first and second blessings for the seven nights to follow. Transliteration:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tsivanu l'hadlik ner shel Hanukkah.
What is Hanukkah in the Bible?
The eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah
commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem
, where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt.
What are the 3 traditional colors for Hanukkah?
Hanukkah paraphernalia tends to come in
blue and white or blue and silver
. The most obvious explanation for blue and white being the colors associated with Hanukkah is the Israeli flag, designed by the Zionist movement in 1891 and officially adopted in 1948.
What do you pray for each night of Hanukkah?
Recite or sing these blessings as you light the Hanukkiyah each night during Hanukkah:
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b-mitzvotav, v-tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Hanukkah
. … Blessed are you, Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who performed miracles for our ancestors in their days at this season.
Is it polite to say Happy Hanukkah?
What is the proper greeting for Hanukkah? To wish someone a Happy Hanukkah, say
“Hanukkah Sameach!” (Happy Hanukkah)
or simply “Chag Sameach!” (Happy Holiday). Or if you want to show off your Hebrew skills, say “Chag Urim Sameach!” (urim means “lights”).
Does Hanukkah celebrate Jesus?
The word “Hanukkah” means dedication and is
celebrated each year
as the Feast of Dedication or the Festival of Lights. Jesus made sure he was in Jerusalem during Hanukkah, The Feast of Dedication, in John chapter 10. He did not ignore it, or any of the prescribed feasts.
What is the deeper meaning of Hanukkah?
Hanukkah, meaning
“dedication
,” marked this military victory with a celebration that lasted eight days and was modeled on the festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot) that had been banned by Antiochus.
What are Hanukkah symbols?
The most famous symbol of Hanukkah is
the hanukkiah
What color is a menorah?
The
color blue
is also mentioned extensively throughout other religious texts, according to Chabad. Today's Hanukkah decorations carry on the tradition of the holiday's early American popularity, in that they look just like Christmas decorations, but they're blue and white.
What are traditional Hanukkah decorations?
The centerpiece of the Hanukkah celebration is the hanukkiah
What are the colors for Hanukkah?
Today's Hanukkah decorations carry on the tradition of the holiday's early American popularity, in that they look just like Christmas decorations, but they're
blue and white
.
What do you do the first night of Hanukkah?
On the first night of Hanukkah
one light (candle or oil)
is lit on the right side of the menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first but it is lit first, and so on, proceeding from placing candles right to left but lighting them from left to right over the eight nights.
What food is eaten during Hanukkah?
One of the most popular foods eaten during Hanukkah are
latkes
, which are fried potato pancakes. Some Jewish people eat latkes sweet, accompanied with apple sauce, while others prefer them savoury, served with sour cream.
