Christmas and Hannukah both suffer creeping secularization
For Jews around the world, the festival of Hanukkah is just around the corner. Many Christians ask me if Hanukkah is the “Jewish Christmas?” The answer is NO!
The reason for the confusion is that both Hanukkah and Christmas occur around the same time of year; and every year Jews make Hanukkah look more and more like Christmas, since who likes to see the other guy having all the fun (gifts, cookies, and music).
Christmas is a one-day event celebrating the birth of Yeshua (Jesus) as He came to earth while Hanukkah celebrates the re-dedication of the Temple over 150 years before Yeshua arrived.
Today Christmas has become a cultural event with many people not celebrating the birth of Yeshua; and for many Jews, Hanukkah has too become merely a cultural event.
Ironically the birth of Yeshua was initially about a Jewish boy, born to a Jewish mother, living in the land of Israel. Today much of that story has been pushed to the margins in favor of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Christmas has been commercialized to absurdity and Hanukkah is following on its heels. I believe it’s time for both Christmas and Hanukkah to be cleared of all the non-essentials so we can get back to the historical roots of why these days matter.
In order to really understand Hanukkah, you have to open the historical books of First and Second Macabees, along with the Jewish historian Josephus. Around the year 167 BCE, the Jewish people were under persecution from the Syrian army. The prevailing cultural influences of the day were Greek sports, philosophy, and theater (sound familiar?). Many Jews gave up trying to live in accordance with the Hebrew Scriptures, especially since doing so brought persecution and ridicule.
Eventually the toleration of the Jewish traditions by the Syrian government stopped and all Jews were commanded to convert or die. Faced with a dire threat, many Jews decided to give up their faith traditions and amalgamate into the dominant culture of Greece. In the midst of all the upheaval the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and Jews were scattered.
One man named Mattathias (along with his five sons) led an armed rebellion against the Syrians for three years. Eventually the Jews won their independence and were able to re-dedicate the Temple that had been defiled by the Syrian army. The word Hanukkah means “re-dedication” and commemorates this historic day in Jewish history.
Fast forward a little over 150 years and we come to the First Century AD/CE where the books of Matthew and Luke tell us about a Jewish boy born in the city of Bethlehem. In order to understand this historic event, you will need the Hebrew Scriptures and the birth narratives of Luke and Matthew. The prophet Isaiah (chapter 7 and 9) foretold the coming of a child that would one day rule the nations just as had been promised to King David (II Samuel 7). For Gentile Christians and Messianic Jews, the coming of Yeshua is a fulfillment of G-d’s redemptive plan for the nations along with the long awaited end of Jewish exile.
Today in order to really hear the Biblical text and the historic texts of the Macabees, one must set aside all the cultural noise that tries to drown out the reality of what these days mean. The birth of Yeshua (Jesus) has been eclipsed with business and parties to the point that even Christians have difficulty understand the reality behind the facade.
My Jewish friends are right behind, with Hanukkah becoming more influenced by Western culture every year. I desire to strip away all the peripheral noise of our culture so that Christians and Jews can once again read, study, and observe days with significance and meaning.
My dream is that one day Jews can read the narratives of Matthew and Luke and seen in them the incredible connection these texts have with the Hebrew Scriptures. Unfortunately Christians keep getting in the way of this happening. My other dream is that Christians can one day study the books of Macabees and observe Hanukkah with their Jewish friends. Here too, Jews get in the way and cause division.
Until my dreams are reality I hope we can all work to build bridges and not walls. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!!
Brent Emery leads Congregation Beit Tefillah of Gig Harbor. Reach him at torah4today@comcast.net
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 12:00 AM.