Christmas and Hannukah

It is important to be aware of your own culture, so you can correctly educate others with correct information. Cultures can differ from other cultures, and if we understand what another culture’s life is like, we will have less misinformation going around. People would understand what is considered disrespectful and what is considered appropriate to each person’s culture. If everyone were to educate themselves about their own culture it would help them better understand other cultures. If I pray to Jesus Christ and some other person prays to Satan, we should be able to respect each other’s beliefs and not be upset about it because this is a part of their culture, and you might not like that, but your opinion usually will not change their beliefs or culture because you do not agree. The part of my culture I will describe is an American holiday known as Christmas, which takes place on the 25th of December. Christmas started with the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of December, sometime during the 4th century according to roman history. Early celebrations of Christmas are thought to be derived from roman and other European festivals that marked the end of the harvest, and winter solstice. In the past, Christmas was originally a Christian holiday that had a strong religious aspect. People would sing religious hymns and would go to church for festive Services. Now in recent years very few Americans are not taking religion seriously, 96% of Christians celebrate Christmas. Religion is an institution; Christmas is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ who Christians believe is the son of God. The meaning of Christmas is thinking about others, A time where we forgive, looking at what is most important and to become better versions of ourselves.

Christmas is important to me because it is the birthday of a higher being that I was raised to look up to.

I chose Christmas as part of my culture because this holiday is a beautiful celebration and it felt like a good topic to research and write about. I learned that 96% of Christians celebrate Christmas and Early celebrations of Christmas are thought to be derived from roman and other European festivals that marked the end of the harvest, and winter solstice. The festival I will describe is called Hanukkah; this festival began in 164 BCE on the 25th day of Kislev. The Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful, the temple was then liberated and rededicated. At this point, the festival of Hanukkah was established to celebrate this huge victory. Judah ordered the temple to be cleansed, to have a new altar built in place of the tainted one and to have new holy vessels made. Hanukkah being so close to Christmas, has caused Hanukkah to become culturally elevated into this huge celebration. American schools and shops agree on diversity by putting up menorahs next to the Christmas trees, including the dreidel song in “holiday concerts” alongside Santa, Rudolph, and Christ child. The people who celebrate Hanukkah are Jewish and are found all around the world, and in Israel Hanukkah is a national holiday. The Jewish historian Titus Flavius Josephus recounts in his book, Jewish Antiquities XII, how the victorious Judas Maccabeus enacted lavish yearly eight-day festivities.

After the rededication to the Temple in Jerusalem due to being defaced by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Although the Jewish people only had enough oil to keep the flame burning for a single day, miraculously, the flames lasted for eight nights. The significance of Hanukkah is that during this time, The Jewish people were able to find 1 jar of pure oil enough oil to be lit for 1 day; somehow, they used that amount for lighting the required set of lamps for eight days, until they managed to press olives and produce pure oil. Because of this, the sages of that generation ruled that the eight days beginning with the twenty-fifth of Kislev should be observed as days of rejoicing and praising the Lord. Lamps are lit in the evening and are placed over the doors of the homes, each of the eight nights, to display the miracle. These eight days are called Hanukkah, where it is forbidden to lament or too fast, just like on the days of Purim. Lighting the lamps during the eight days of Hanukkah is a religious duty imposed by the sages. I am interested in this holiday because my father was Jewish, and we always had a menorah out with the Christmas tree. When he passed away the menorah did not end up coming back out and I never understood why, so having this opportunity to research and write about a holiday that was a part of my father’s life has been a wonderful experience. I have learned the history behind the holiday Hanukkah and what it means to the people involved.

What makes Christmas alike to Hanukkah, both holidays Christmas and Hanukkah are built around friends, family, gifts, indulgence, with each celebration lighting and decorating either the Christmas tree or the Hanukkah Menorah. According to Mindy Haas “The tree tradition we are accustomed to today hails from Northern Europe, where Germanic pagan tribes decorated evergreen trees in worship of the god Woden, with candles and dried fruit. The tradition was incorporated into the Christian faith in Germany during the 1500’s. They decorated trees in their homes with sweets, lights, and toys.” The Christmas tree today symbolizes the birth of Jesus Christ and his resurrection with the tree branches being a sign of immortality and are thought to represent Jesus Christ’s crown of thorns on the crucifixion. Traditional Christmas trees were decorated with candy canes, an angel, a star, fragile ornaments, red velvet ribbons, pinecones, popcorn strung on string, tinsel, along with homemade / school made decorations like paper bells, paper stars and paper link garlands. Decorations in the most recent years have consisted of ornaments, faux flowers, garlands, string light and candy canes. The nine-branch menorah honors the miracle of the oil as well. Each branch represents the eight days that the oil managed to burn in the Temple. The ninth, which is called the shamash, is the helper or servant candle and is used to light all the other candles. According to Beth Gandelman “The lighting of a menorah is truly significant, as it reminds us of the story that a great miracle happened here.”

The difference between both holidays is that they mean something completely different; Christmas is a central holiday for Christians as December 25th is the birth of Jesus Christ. Hanukkah is a holiday about the Jewish history, for the Jewish people they celebrate the take back of their freedom and the Jewish Holy Temple of Jerusalem from the Seleucid’s (Syrian – Greeks), who were of the mightiest armies of that time, they even attempted to force the people of Israel to deny their religion. A major similarity between the two holidays is that both Christmas and Hanukkah take place in December, they both always have lights, and include family and friends. These are just a few examples why Christmas and Hanukkah are similar yet different at the same time, both mean something completely different while still having similarities. The main idea of this essay is to explain to you how these holidays are different from each other along with how they are alike to each other. It is important to be aware of your own culture, so you can correctly educate others with correct information. Cultures can differ from other cultures, and if we understand what another culture’s life is like, we will have less misinformation going around.

People would understand what is considered disrespectful and what is considered appropriate to each person’s culture. The main points of this essay are to be aware of your own culture along with others and how they may differ from other cultures. Explaining about the holiday Christmas and what it means to Christians, being it is the birthday of the Christians lord savior Jesus Christ the son of God. Explaining about the celebration of Hanukkah and what the eight days Jewish Observance mean to the Jewish people. How Hanukkah is like Christmas and how it is different, so now that you have learned this information you can be more educated on the history of Hanukkah and Christmas and why it is important to be aware of other cultures and customs.