8 Day Festival of Lights
Festival of Lights is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple. It begins on the eve of the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev.
According to chabad.org, Hanukkah for 2010 is Dec. 1st - Dec. 9th. This is also where I got the information for most of this post.
The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical Menorah consists of 9 branches. Uncontaminated olive oil was used
More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of God.
Hanukkah celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of spirituality over materiality.
Source for most of this post:
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default_cdo/jewish/Hanukkah.htm
Happy Hanukkah
No comments:
Post a Comment