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A menorah lighting ceremony and festival will take place at Pasadena City Hall from 4:00 to 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon. (More here.)
The first night of the eight-day festival commemorates the time in the 2nd century BCE when the Jewish people of Judea rose up against King Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire and recaptured the Temple in Jerusalem.
The story in the Talmud says the sons of Israel wanted to rededicate the Temple and purify it from the defilement of the invaders, and sought pure oil to light the lamps. But they could not find any oil – except one bowl that was sealed with the ring of the High Priest from the days of Samuel the Prophet. It wasn’t enough to light the lamps for one day, but miraculously, the oil lasted eight days.
And so the sons of Israel made a covenant and took upon themselves a solemn vow to observe these eight days of joy and honor and to light the lamps so the next generations of Jews would remember how God saved them from the much bigger and better trained armies of the Seleucid.
Rabbi John Carrier of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center (PJTC) said the Hanukkah festival is observed beginning on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev – usually in December, but sometimes in late November in the Gregorian calendar. It is essentially celebrated as a “rededication” of the Temple.
“The word Hanukkah itself means ‘rededication,’ he said. “And so we celebrate the recapture and the rededication of the temple after it had been taken away from us. And so a big part of it is an underdog fight for religious freedom, if you will.”
During the eight days of Hanukkah, the Jewish community lights the Hanukkah menorah, an eight-branched candelabrum with one extra branch for the “shamash” candle, the helper candle.
On the first night, one begins by only lighting the shamash, then using the shamash to light the first candle on the left. On the second night, the shamash is lit and used to light the first, then second candles on the left. And, so on, until on the eighth night of Hanukkah all nine candles are lit in full celebration.
Because Hanukkah is not a biblically ordained holiday, there are generally no temple services dedicated to the holiday. It is regarded as a minor religious holiday, but has become popular because of its festive nature and its symbolism as a public recognition that the Jewish people will not be oppressed nor give up their freedom to worship.
The fact that the Hanukkah festival comes at about the same time as Christmas has led some non-Jews to equate it with the Christmas holidays, but it’s not the same thing, Rabbi Carrier said.
“However, I want to point out that all cultures have felt compelled to bring more light to the world at the time of the year where the world is darkest, when it’s literally, we have the longest nights,” Carrier said. “And so for Christians, it’s Christmas, for Jews, it’s Hanukkah. And what I want to point out is that even though it means a different thing to Jews than it means to Christians. This is something that we all share – the need for more light when it’s dark, but also the will to create more light when it’s dark.”
Other Hanukkah traditions include spinning a dreidel, a four-sided top, which partially commemorates a game that Jews under Greek domination are believed to have played to camouflage their Torah study, and eating foods fried in oil, such as latkes, pancakes of grated raw potatoes and jelly doughnuts.
Children receive Hanukkah “gelt” (the Yiddish word for money) from parents and grandparents. The tradition originated with 17th-century Polish Jews giving money to their children to give their teachers during Hanukkah, which led to parents also giving children money.
In the United States, the practice has evolved into giving holiday gifts to children and others.
The Hanukkah festival this year ends on the evening of Dec. 26.
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