The story of Chanukah is recorded in both first and second Maccabees, and also in the Talmud. Here's a short history about Chanukah and what I know about it.

Probably about two centuries before Yeshua was born, the Greeks, under the leadership of Antiochus IV invaded Israel, seeking to make it part of his empire. They desecrated Yahweh's temple and offered unclean animals on the alter and used the sacred oil used for lighting the Menorah. They set up an idol of Zeus and many other false gods. Then they killed any body who did not worship these gods. Some of the Jews out of fear, worshiped these false gods and dressed like Greeks, ate like Greeks, talked like Greeks, just so they wouldn't get killed.

As you can probably guess, this did not go over very well with the Jewish people who wanted to stay true and pure. So a group of men, woman and children fled Jerusalem to the hills, where they were safe for a little while. Led by these families was a man named Mattathias, a Jew who had refused to sacrifice to the Greek gods and his five sons. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Judah Maccabee was the oldest of his brothers. (?). After his father's death, Judah led a revolt against the Greek army that outnumbered them more than once. Three times, Judah's small army one against Antiochus' army, each time with greater victory than the last.

After the third battle, the Maccabees reclaimed Judea and went back to Jerusalem. They went straight to the temple, and saw with horror all the Greek's had done to Yahweh's temple. Immediately they began cleaning it up, taking all the idols out and cleansing the temple. They found only one jar of oil, enough to keep the Menorah lit for one day. It would take eight days to get new oil that was of high enough quality for keeping the Menorah lit.

They lit the Menorah and left for their homes. The next morning, when they got to the temple, they were shocked to find the temple doors open and the Menorah burning brightly. Eight whole days the Menorah stayed lit. It was only until they had new oil that the Menorah lights went out.

What a miracle! The fact that a small group of untrained Jewish men were able to beat the greatest empire on earth alone is a miracle, and topped with the Menorah staying lit for eight days on barely enough oil for one day is amazing. A blog I follow, Radical Femininity, did a post titled Eight reasons to celebrate Hanukkah. Check it out! It's really neat.

There are those who don't lite any candles at all because it's not commanded in scripture, although the bible does say that Yeshua was actually in Jerusalem and at the temple when Chanukah occurred. The probability that Yeshua celebrated this is very likely.

My family has not lit a Chanukiah for many years because of the origin of the Chanukiah; we've been lighting the real Menorah, the one with seven branches. Not to say that there's something wrong with using a Chanukiah, my family has our convictions and your families have their convictions. But as always, I recommend that you do your own research on the origin of the Chanukiah and pray about it to see if it's something Yahweh wants you to continue doing.

Thanks for reading today and please feel free to comment! Happy Chanukah!

All the different ways to spell Chanukah :)
Hanukkah
Chanukah
Hanukah
Hannukah
Chanuka
Chanukkah
Hanuka  
Channukah 
Chanukka  
Hanukka
Hannuka  
 Hannukkah
Channuka
Xanuka
Hannukka
Channukkah
Channukka
Chanuqa 

Emma