A site about dreidels is kind of pointless without the story of Hanukkah which put meaning into the little top.
Hanukkah is one of the most,if not the most, well known Jewish holiday due by the fact that it is often celebrated the same time Christmas is.Also known as "The Festival of Lights" the eight day ritual starts on the 25th day of the Jewish month, Kislev(Nov/Dec).
It is celebrated for the great miracle that happened more then 2000 years ago. Before the miracle the land Judea was ruled by Antiochus who did not tolerate any faith or god but his own. Back then there was no rule about having to tolerate a religion and any faith could be oppressed freely. This is what Antiochus did to the Jews because they didn't follow his faith or worship his gods.
He banned study of the Torah, the observation of the Sabbath , and made a statue of Zeus in the sacred temple of Jerusalem. The Jews wouldn't put up with this for too long. In 167 b.c. they fought back. a priest named Matthias put together an army and put his five sons in charge. They were called the Maccabees "hammer". Fighting Antiochus' army for 3 years eventually regained their land and their temple in Jerusalem. The statue of Zeus was torn down. However when they went to cleanse the synagogue they found it all but destroyed along with it they found their menorah also broken. The menorah was restored but there was only enough oil to lit it for a day, it would be eight days until they could replenish their oil supply but they lit the candles anyway and remarkably the menorah staid lit for up to eight days.
Today Hanukkah(or Chanukah) is celebrated in memory of this miracle.It is 8 days long to remember the 8 days that the menorah staid lit for. This holiday is well known.Because it is usually very close to Christmas on the calendar it is sometimes refered as a "Jewish alternative to Christmas".But in truth Hanukkah is its own unique holiday. It has been around much longer. It is believed that it has been mentioned in Maccabees 1. If this is true then the holiday is about 1000 years older then Christmas. Christmas took a rather long while and it was created to more or less, replace a pagan holiday in order to save Christianity .Many of its traditions came from Paganism and it also,not surprisingly, has roots in Hanukkah as well. However getting gifts for 8 days was borrowed from Christmas when Jewish children would watch their friends give each other gifts during the holidays. Another thing that seperates the two holidays is that Hanukkah is not as commercialized if it is at all. It also doesn't have as many gimmicks and probably has a more true "holiday spirit" then the modernized Christmas.
Another real differance between Hanukkah and Christmas is that Hanukkah is not a major religious holiday (like Christmas is for Christians). In fact it is a secular holiday , work and school are still in session when the holiday is celebrated. Though Hanukkah has its own importance it's not as important as most of the other Jewish holidays. Passover, Rosh Hashanah(Jewish New Year), and Yom Kippur(Day of Atonement) are the more important Jewish observations. Passover is the most important one of them all. Which makes sense without Passover there would probably be no Hanukkah. The one holiday that matches with Hanukkah's importance would be Purim Day.
For all their differences there are similarities between Hanukkah and Christmas(besides that both are usually celebrated in December).
Both holidays(without the commercialization) celebrate togetherness,both reflect appreciation for our families and friends , and both promote family activities .
More Hanukkah info coming soon!! Updating ASAP!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!NEW PAGE 04/30/08!!!:
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