HanukkahThe feasts celebrated in Israel were all started from the time of Moses and the feasts were customary. But during the course of time, one such major festival with much fanfare that breached in between is Hanukkah. There is a story behind the feast of Hanukkah. If you wish to know about Hanukkah, you must have knowledge about Antioch Epiphanies.

Until 200 B C, Judea was under the control of Ptolemy, and a territory of Egypt. After the death of Alexander the great, his commanders divided the invaded kingdoms into four separate kingdoms and each one occupied a kingdom. One of the four commanders is Antioch. He fought against Ptolemy and captured the kingdoms from Ptolemy. During this time, Judea went into the hands of Antioch.Though the Jews did not suffer any hardship during his time, but his successor Antioch Epiphanes IV, a great tyrant of the Jews caused untold amount of cruelty and affliction upon Judea.

Ptolemy

Antiochus Epiphanes IV

The tyrant who came to the throne in 168 B.C.E, proclaimed himself as god. He ruled all his territories and kingdoms very harshly. He inflicted severe cruelty especially over the Jews and he was ruthless in his administration. He abolished the staunch religious faiths of the Jews and forced the Jews into new concepts and beliefs. He intended to replace and bring the gods of Rome into the Jerusalem Temple and thus causing the Jews to abandon and cease their traditional ways of worship.

Livia, wife of Augustus, dressed as the goddess Ops

Roman Isis in black and white marble, from the time of Apuleius

Roman goddesses

Other Roman gods and goddesses (According to Roman Mythology)

> Diana - the goddess of the Moon

> Fortuna - the goddess of Luck

> Juno – Jupiter’ wife, Queen of the gods and goddess of Marriage

> Janus - the god of Gates and doors> Jupiter - the king of the gods and god of Lightning and the Sky

> Mars - the god of War > Bellona - the goddess of War

> Neptune - the god of the Sea.

> Pluto - god of the Underworld, and the riches under the Earth > Proserpina – Pluto’ wife

> Venus - goddess of Love and Beauty

> Vulcan - Venus' husband - the god of Fire, Volcanoes and Blacksmiths. Vulcan was seen as a blacksmith

> Cupid - Venus & Vulcan' son - the god of Love.

> Bacchus - god of wine, parties / festivals, madness, and merriment

> Mercury - the god of Thieves, Commerce and Travellers. Also the Messenger of

gods

> Saturn - god of agriculture

> Ceres – Saturn’ daughter, goddess of farming and the Earth> Minerva - virgin goddess of Wisdom, Handicrafts, Defense, and Strategic Warfare

> Vesta - virgin goddess of home and hearth

As a first step, he killed the priests and scholars who were in Judea. He entered the Jerusalem temple and carried away all the articles and vessels and burnt all the books and scriptures which was kept in the temple. He also desecrated the temple with abominable sacrifices. Particularly he sacrificed swine on the temple altar.

He declared himself as god and commanded that all Jews to worship him as their god. He executed all those who disobeyed his words by beheading and hanging them in public places. The literal meaning of his name ‘Epiphanes’ which he added to his original name, meant ‘The god who revealed’’. Antioch strongly believed that he is the incarnation of the Greek god, Zeus. He compelled others to believe and accept him as god.The affliction which the Jews underwent in his reign is beyond imagination. The Jewish habitations were set ablaze spontaneously and his soldiers would enter attack the inhabitants and search the Jewish worship places and destroy them. Sprinkling and pouring out the blood of swine and terming it as the holy sacrifice was a regular feature.

Zeus

It was during this time that there came up a resistant movement against Antioch. Mattathias along with his five sons Joanna, Simeon, Elizear, Jonathan and Judah started the movement. Many

Jews who underwent hardship under Antioch, joined together and increased the number of

protestors and strengthened their army. These were hiding in the outskirts in the Judean

wilderness and would strike against the places of Antioch’s kingship. The army of Antioch, who did not expect such an unexpected and fierce attack from the zealots, were stunned and could not put

up any resistance. Attacks by the zealots gradually increased and many places were set on fire. Their

desire was to capture the Jerusalem from the hands of the Romans and retrieve and renovate

the Jerusalem Temple. In the ensuing battle, Mattathias was killed in the war and his son

Judah, assumed his father’s place and led the army. He was called as ‘Jehudah-Ha - Maccabees’

which meant ‘The sledge hammer of Judah’

It was on this background that the zealots were called as Maccabees. In 165 B.C.E., the Maccabees under the leadership of Judah Maccabee, in a series of battle against Antioch, finally won and recovered the Jerusalem temple. At once, the Maccabees resolved to cleanse and sanctify the temple and the altar of God. Judah Maccabee, who was victorious in the battle, commanded the people to start cleansing the temple and restore the articles, vessels and other ornaments and to rebuild the altar.

Israel under Judah Maccabee

Jonathan's conquests

Simon's conquests

According to the writings of the Hebrew Scriptures, when the temple is being cleansed, the golden lamp stand, called as Menorah, must be lit and glowing. The lamp must continue to be lit day and night and only the Olive oil must be used. But at that time, they had only one cup of Olive oil. If the oil in the cup were to be poured into the lamp, it would hardly last for half a day. Yet, the people poured and lit the Menorah. With the poured Olive oil, the Menorah was glowing continuously for consecutive eight days and nights. Their cleansing work also lasted for eight days and was completed on the eighth day.

Menorah

The priests, who witnessed the miracle which the Lord performed, instituted a memorial day and resolved to celebrate a feast for eight days. Hanukkah is the feast which is celebrated to commemorate the victory against the wicked Antioch by restoring the temple and also to signify the presence of God that was revealed to the people through the miracle.The term Hanukkah, means “Feast of Dedication or Festival of Lights”. The feast is celebrated every year during the twenty-fifth day in the month of Kislev, of the Jewish calendar and continues up to the second or third day of the month of She 'vet.Since there is a variation in the number of days in the English calendar, the date differs. In 2012, the feast was commenced on the sunset of eighth December 2012 and continued until sixteenth of December. In 2013, the feast will be celebrated on the sunset of twenty seventh day of November and shall extend up to fifth day of December and in 2014 it shall commence on the sunset of sixteenth day of December and extend up to twenty fourth December.

How is the Hanukkah Festival celebrated?Since the primary reason for the feast is the constant glowing of the lamp in the temple for eight days, Menorah is predominantly used. There is a difference between the ordinary Menorah and the Hanukkah Menorah. In the ordinary temple Menorah, there will be three lamps in the left and three in the right and one in the middle and all the seven lamps will be supported by a single stand. This is the lamp stand which is mentioned in The Book of Revelation. Whereas, the Hanukkah Menorah will have four on the left and four on the right and one in the middle. Hence there will be nine lamps in the Hanukkah Menorah. All lamps will be rested on a single lamp stand.

Silver Hanukkah Menorah

There are certain procedures and formalities as to how a Hanukkah lamp has to be lit. The first day only the lamp on the left branch of the lamp stand will be lit up, and the lamp has to be lit up using another lamp and not by using a match stick or any other lighters. On the second day, the first lamp and the second lamp of the left branch shall have to be lit. Here again, the second lamp must be lit up with a separate lamp and then proceed to light up the first lamp. Each day the lamp has be to increased by one and the direction shall be from left to the right hand side branches. The lamp in the middle must not be used to light up the other lamps. One lamp must be lit for a day and finally on the last day, all the nine lamps shall glow and appear very beautifully. The lamps must be lit after it is sufficiently dark and must glow for a minimum of thirty minutes a day. Though during those days only the lamps that burns on oil alone were used, but today electronic lamps are being used where it is restricted to use coals or fire lamps.

The lamp that is used to light up from the main lamp is called as ‘Shamash’. Eight days of holidays have been declared by the state of Israel. Special prayers are offered on all the eight days.Feasts shall entail different delicious meal and varieties. A special type of cake is baked by mixing dough with eggs and potatoes and fried in oil and nicely fried Doughnuts are mainly cooked and served. Oil is extensively used to denote the miraculous glowing Menorah of the temple.

Potato latke frying in hot olive oil

Sufganiyot / doughnuts

Milk and milk products and other milk based sweets and savories are a favorite during Hanukkah. When tried to find out any back ground story, they had one to share. When the Syrians came up against the Israelites, a woman brave heart by name Judith saved the city. Judith offered ripe grape wine to the commander of the Syrian army. Along with that she also gave them the sour milk of the Hebrews. The commander and the soldiers, who drank the milk, fell unconscious. Immediately Judith severed the head of the commander and took the head with her.The Syrians, who saw the headless corpse of the commander the following day, terrified and ran away without pursuing the Israelites. In order to commemorate the courage of Judith, sweets produced from milk are extensively used.

Special games for children will be arranged during the Hanukkah festival. This is called as ‘Traitel’. There will be two dice in this game and there will be a small horn attached to the dice. The base of the dice will be uneven and it would keep rolling and swaying. Hebrew letters on the remaining four sides of the dice. The letters are “A miracle took place here”. So as the dice are rolled, the children who first arrange by rolling the two dice and make the phrase will score the points. During the Hanukkah festival, it is quite common to send gifts to one another. Generally they will offer cosmetic and beauty products, small sized Hanukkah Menorah, dumb boxes, circular shaped gold color chocolates and so on.

Spinning tops / Dreidels

Chocolate gelt