Is there connection between Hanukah and Christmas?
Let me clear this up from the start: Christmas is not the Christian Hanukah, but there is a kind of connection.
Both are connected to the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, that time when we round the corner and light starts to return bit by bit for the next 182 days.
At this time of the year in our ancient temple in Jerusalem, some of the altar’s sacred fire was preserved in a clay vessel so that it could be cleansed and dedicated anew by relighting its eternal sacred fire. This ritual was called “hanukat hamizbay’ah,” the dedication (“hanukah”) of the altar. Tradition had it that this was the same preserved fire that God used to start the flames on the altar on the day it was first consecrated in the wilderness tabernacle in the days of Moses - in a way, the first Hanukah.
Jesus’ birth date was not recorded in the gospel. Back then we Jews did not celebrate birthdays, but the Romans did. So when the Roman Empire became officially Christian 300 years after Jesus, the December 25th solstice celebration of the birthday of the Invincible Sun God was rechristened, so to speak, as the birthday of the invincible Christ, under whose cross Rome would now conquer.
In this sense, Hanukah and Christmas share the same impetus: celebrating the return of the light, and so lights become the central symbols of both festivals. We Jews light a special menorah candelabra on the first night of Hanukah and then one by one, add additional candles for the next seven nights. As you know, Christians decorate their home with lights, and before that, there were Yule logs. You get the idea.
What Hanukah and Christmas also have in common is their evolving meanings and messages. In the beginnings of both holidays were martial overtones, celebrations of military victory.
In Judea about 2,200 years ago, the Hasmonean Maccabees, a band of renegade Judean priests, led a successful insurrection against the Macedonian Syrian King Antiochus whose forces ruled the region and controlled the great temple in Jerusalem. At first, Hanukah was all about their conquering of Jerusalem and rededicating the Temple’s altar.
And during a Roman civil war over succession in 312 C.E., Constantine, one of the contenders for emperor, was said to have seen a Chi-Rho, two merged Greek letters signifying Christ, on the eve of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge and heard the words “In hoc signo vinci” - “in this sign you will conquer.” When he prevailed and became emperor, he attributed his victory to Christ whose birthday from thereon supplanted the Invincible Sun God’s.
But here’s the important point: over time both Jews and Christians outgrew their respective celebrations of military successes and the glorification of war.
Like individuals in their adolescence, both Western and Eastern religions in their early years exhibited violent warlike tendencies and appetites for conquest. However, also like most people, maturing religions generally get past that and embrace a message of peace, both within and without. Christmas is now all about “peace on Earth and goodwill to all,” while Hanukah celebrates trust in God who is with us in our darkest moments when all hope seems to be gone.
Sadly, our youngest sister religion, now about 1,300 years old, is still in the throes of its adolescence with its penchant for the destructive, believing that struggle and martyrdom are the quickest path to Paradise. But let’s be fair in our judgment. Jewish history records that for many centuries our early ancestors reveled in conquest, believing that it was one of God’s greatest gifts. And what was Western Christianity like when it was 1,300 years old? Keyword: Crusades. So in this season of blessed hope, there is good reason to hope that in the centuries to come as our kid sibling settles down, our message of peace, often ignored in the breach but still drawing us towards a better world, will be hers as well. So let’s hang on!
Bruce Diamond is Rabbi at the Fort Myers Community Free Synagogue.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Is there connection between Hanukah and Christmas?
