The Meaning of Hanukkah Goes Beyond Lights and Latkes
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As the winter season approaches, there are some special holidays to look forward to. One major holiday happening in December 2023 is Hanukkah, which is a Jewish holiday also known as the Festival of Lights.
Hanukkah is celebrated by Jewish people around the world. Traditions include decorating the home and gathering to light the menorah, recite Hanukkah blessings, eat fried foods, play Hanukkah games like dreidel, and exchange Hanukkah gifts.
The history of the eight-day celebration is rooted in the rededication of the Holy Temple after the Jewish people reclaimed it from the Syrian-Greeks in the second century BCE. As they worked to restore the temple, they used an oil lamp fueled by a tiny bit of oil that was only supposed to last one day. The oil miraculously lasted for eight days, and that is what is considered the Hanukkah miracle.
"Hanukkah always coincides with the winter solstice," Rabbi Jessica Minnen tells Woman's Day. "It symbolizes the creation of light in the darkest times. Jewish holidays are all connected to the earth and the cycle of seasons."
We've got all the answers to your questions about Hanukkah, including "when is Hanukkah this year?" and "how is Hanukkah celebrated?" Keep reading for more information about the beautiful holiday and how you can celebrate it in 2023.
When is Hanukkah 2023?
In 2023, Hanukkah begins the evening of Thursday, December 7 and ends the evening of Friday, December 15. Because the dates of the holiday correspond to the lunisolar calendar, they change each year. Typically, Hanukkah falls in November or December.
What does Hanukkah celebrate?
According to National Geographic, the Syrian-Greeks invaded the Jewish homeland and captured Jerusalem, where the Jewish Holy Temple was located. After the invasion, they attempted to force the Jewish people to forgo their religion and customs and adopt Greek beliefs instead. The Syrian-Greeks desecrated the Holy Temple and enacted laws forbidding the practice of Judaism.
“Imagine your town being taken over by people telling you that you can’t practice your faith anymore, that are trying to take away your identity. That’s what was happening to the Jewish people,” Minnen explains.
Rather than assimilate, the Jews rebelled against their oppressors. A tiny army of Jews, led by a man called Judah Maccabee (the Hebrew word for hammer), fought back against the huge Syrian-Greek army, reclaiming both Jerusalem and the Holy Temple.
The Hanukkah Story
According to Jewish tradition, after the Jews won back Jerusalem, they found that the Temple had been destroyed. They began to clean it up and wanted to light the menorah (a seven-branched candelabrum used to light the Temple) to give sacred light to the restoration project. However, the oil used in the temple had to be a special, purified oil, and the Jews couldn’t find any. They finally found a tiny bit of oil that would be enough for one day. It miraculously lasted for eight days, which was just enough time to purify more oil to keep the Temple lit.
Why is Hanukkah celebrated for eight days?
Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days because of the Hanukkah miracle, in which that tiny bit of oil lasted for eight entire days and provided light to people restoring the temple. Today, Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights because it marks the celebration of that miracle.
Hanukkah Meaning
The Hebrew word Hanukkah means "dedication," as the holiday commemorates the Jewish people's rededication to the Temple.
Minnen says that the spiritual significance of Hanukkah is that, like the Jews more than two thousand years ago dedicating themselves to restoring the Temple, Jewish people today also take time during the holiday to reflect on who they really are, and rededicate themselves to their faith.
Hanukkah Traditions
Hanukkah is celebrated with a number of traditions, including:
Lighting the Menorah
On the eight nights of Hanukkah, Jews light the menorah, adding an extra candle each night until there are eight candles on the last night. The modern menorah, which is also called a hanukkiah, is a candelabra meant to commemorate the menorah from the Holy Temple, but, as the Wall Street Journal notes, it has nine arms to accommodate the eight candles plus a shamash candle, which is the helper candle that is used to light other candles.
If open flames aren't an option for you — maybe you have pets or small children at home — you might consider using an electric menorah, which lights up your home with small lightbulbs instead of fire.
Eating Fried Foods
Minnen explains that “because of the miracle that happened with the oil, we celebrate by eating foods cooked in oil. The two most common are latkes, which are fried potato pancakes, and sufganiyot, which are fried jelly doughnuts.”
Playing Dreidel
“One of the Greek laws was to prohibit the Jews from studying Torah (the Old Testament). So Jews would have secret gatherings to study together,” Minnen says. “They took these spinning tops with them to study so in the event that a soldier walked by and peeked in the windows where they were, they would quickly shut the books and spin the tops so it would look like they were just playing a game.”
She says the spinning tops, or dreidels, became a symbol of resistance, and Jews kept the custom of playing dreidel on Hanukkah. Dreidels are marked with the letters for the Hebrew words "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham," which means "a great miracle happened there" (referring to Jerusalem). Playing dreidel is pretty simple. Each of the Hebrew letters has a different value assigned to it. Depending on which letter your dreidel lands on after you spin it, you win or lose different amounts of gelt, which can either mean real coins or chocolate coins wrapped in foil. The goal is to collect as much gelt as possible.
How can you observe Hanukkah this year?
"There’s a teaching in Judaism that tells us we should publicize the miracle of Hanukkah," says Minnen. "This means lighting candles in front of a window to magnify the light for as many people as possible." And yes, if possible also "celebrating with big parties."
Another way to celebrate Hanukkah is by attending a public menorah lighting. These public menorah lightings frequently take place in town squares, public parks, city halls, and other community areas. You can search for ones happening near you and bring the whole family with you to celebrate. Public menorah lightings are generally open to the public, meaning non-Jewish people are also welcome to attend.
For people looking for a resource to give them a broader understanding of the holiday, Minnen recommends the short movie Lights on YouTube.
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