Ten Facts to Know about Hanukkah
This is the Jewish Annual Celebration of the Festival of Lights
Photo Credit: Milikin Archive
Issue #199 Friday Funday December 16, 2022
Chag sameach! Happy Hanukkah!
In 2022, Hanukkah begins on the evening of December 18 and lasts until the evening of December 26.
The word Hanukkah (sometimes spelled Chanukkah) means “dedication,” and comes from the Hebrew word “Hinuch” which means “to teach.
The most common story about the holiday commemorates the triumph of a band of Jewish rebels known as the Maccabees in reclaiming the temple from the Greek Syrians in 164 BCE (“Before the Common Era”). The festival of Hanukkah celebrates the subsequent cleaning of the temple and the remediation of the altar on the date of 25 Kislev on the lunar Hebrew calendar.
No intrusive ads or annoying popups ever! Instead, please see the important information below and at the bottom of this post. That’s how we grow and sustain this publication. AND, please keep those “Likes” and comments coming! Thanks!
All posts are free for fourteen days after their publication. To read all older posts, including the complete archive, please consider supporting us financially by upgrading your subscription to a paid level. Thank you for your support!
Did you know that a W.A.S. subscription makes a wonderful holiday gift?
How many of these Hanukkah facts do you know?
Hanukkah lasts for eight days because although the holy light was supposed to burn continuously, the people had only enough oil for one day. That one day of oil lasted eight days.
The Menorah is a candelabra with nine candles: 8 for the 8 nights and one longer candle (the shammash) used to light the other candles one night at a time.
Originally money was given to others during Hanukkah. The tradition of giving gifts only became popular relatively recently in some Western countries because of the gift-giving during Christmas, which is often close to or overlaps Hanukkah.
Food is fried in oil during Hanukkah to further commemorate the miracle of the one day’s oil that burned for eight days. Favorite fried foods include latkes (potato pancakes) and jelly doughnuts.
Hanukkah is not the most important Jewish holiday. Passover and Rosh Hashanah are more significant.
Harry Truman was the first president to celebrate Hanukkah at the White House.
There are different spellings for Hanukkah that are all “correct” because there is no easy or standard way to directly translate the Hebrew sounds to English.
The dreidel (the four-sided spinning top) was invented as a way for the Jews to learn scripture when Jewish studies were outlawed by the Greek Syrians.
The largest Menorah in the world is located in the Grand Army Plaza in New York City.
The story of Hanukkah does not appear in the Torah because the events happened after the Torah was written. The story does appear in the New Testament where Jesus is said to have attended a “Feast of Dedication.”
What are some of your favorite holiday traditions? Let us know in the comments.
Help us to grow “We Are Speaking!” It really helps us to reach our monthly growth goals when you let others know about us!
It’s gift-giving time! A W.A.S. subscription can be the perfect gift for someone you know.
Paid Subscribers! Join us in our Chat Room to participate in the W.A.S. discussions!
There are many benefits to using the W.A.S. app, including the ability to listen to our posts and podcast episodes straight from the app.
You can always leave any questions in the comments, or you can email us.
I will be leaving Twitter very soon, so I am concentrating much more on my Instagram account. Please click the link to follow me on my ‘Gram.
Subscribe or adjust your subscription to receive the “Find Out In Fifteen” Branding and Marketing Podcast for the Global Creative Community
Please support us: subscribe for free or upgrade your current subscription to a paid level for only 31¢ per issue or less. We publish 32 issues per month.
Paid subscribers receive all of the weekly posts and podcast episodes, and can participate in the Chat and monthly Zoom Community Session.
You can also subscribe or adjust your subscription to only receive notifications of the W.A.S. Weekly Summary Newsletter (instead of daily emails):