The Story of Hanukkah is one of the most exciting tales that comes from ancient Jewish texts. It’s not that widely observed in Israel itself and it’s certainly not as important as Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah or the Passover. However, in the global Jewish community it has been picked up as a way of celebrating the faith from afar. It also coincides with Christmas time and as many Jewish communities are in mainly Christian countries it’s a great way for there to be some crossover. One of the most famous examples of this is the episode of Friends where Ross dresses up as a Holiday Armadillo. Armadillos have nothing to do with the story of Hanukkah but it shows how important they are to the community. Hanukkah Candles are central to the celebration. You can get some from cazenovejudaica.com.
The story of Hanukkah centres around the lighting of Menorah candles. These are eight in number and the festival lasts for nine days to commemorate what happened. The story is set in Ancient times and centres around the people of the Jewish faith known as the Maccabees. They were oppressed and their religion was denied them.
Rising up against their oppressors, the Maccabees were able to free themselves and restore their synagogue. The first order of business was to light the Menorah candles. Sadly, there was only enough oil left to light the first lamp. Miraculously, the oil lasted for the next 8 days allowing the Maccabees to celebrate their success.
