Essay Sample on The History of Hanukkah
Hanukkah, also known as “the festival of lights” is an eight-day Jewish celebration that includes many traditions. Including the lighting of the menorah, traditional foods, games and gifts. Hanukkah dates back to the second century BC and was started by the Jews in Jerusalem. It is not a highly religious holiday, it has more of a cultural significance.
There are different variations of historical events on how Hanukkah began. The fundamental belief of how it started was how the king of Syria’s son ordered Jews to worship Greek gods. His soldiers killed thousands of Jews, destroyed the city’s holy Temple and created an altar to Zeus. Judah, the son of Mattathias, a Jewish priest, took control of the city and drove the Syrians out of Jerusalem. They cleansed the holy Temple and rebuilt the altar. They then light the menorah, believing that there was only enough oil to last one day. Oddly enough, the candles stayed lit for a total of eight nights. This is why the holiday is an eight-day long celebration.
As Catholics and Christians have a Christmas tree to symbolize Christmas, Jews have a menorah. I have seen menorahs made of glass, wood, metal, gold, silver, ceramic and it seems to be the personal preference on which they prefer to use. The menorah is the main tradition in the celebration. There are nine branches holding candles on the menorah, four on each side and one in the middle a little bit higher than the others. The middle candle is called the Shamash or helper, it is used to light all the other candles. One candle is lit each day of the celebration. The branches represent knowledge and creation. Besides the menorah, there are other decorations and traditions celebrated.
The traditional menu includes foods fried in oil to remind us of the miracle of the oil that kept the menorah lasting for longer than expected. A popular dish that is eaten during the holiday is latkes, also known as potato pancakes is one such food, as well as fried jelly doughnuts. Not only is there fun music, dancing, lighting of the candles, and a big dinner, but there is fun games and gift giving. Although gift giving was not always how they celebrated their holiday, gelt was. Gelt, Yiddish for money, is a chocolate coin given out. The most popular explanation of why gelt is part of the customs is because coins became a symbol of the holiday. Ancient Jews’ made their own coins as a symbol of the independence they gained in the battles. Giving gifts to loved ones started in the 1950’s, the meaning behind giving gifts to others is to not have people and children feel like they’re missing out on Christmas. There are no set rules on how a family decides to celebrate this holiday.
The celebration over the years has changed. The one thing that has stayed the same consistently is the lighting of the menorah and eating fried foods. Each family creates their own traditions with every holiday. Some families prefer not to give one gift every night, and instead give all gifts on one night. Some families may have financial troubles and are not able to buy everyone eight gifts, some may not have the time to celebrate every night for eight nights, some may not be able to have their whole family together for eight days to celebrate. No matter how people choose to celebrate, the meaning behind Hanukkah has never changed.
