NOT The Jewish Christmas

Today is the final day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, and once again, I feel the need to clarify a popular misconception. Hanukkah is not, I repeat, NOT, the Jewish analog to Christmas. Hanukkah is not even a particularly important celebration on the Jewish calendar. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it was ransacked by the forces of Hellenistic emperor Antiochus IV. The oil left over from was only sufficient to fuel the eternal flame for one day, but miraculously, it lasted eight days, which was the time needed to procure and consecrate more oil.

While the Hanukkah miracle is undoubtedly worthy of celebration, the genesis of the holiday is far from the Book of Genesis. The most important holidays in Jewish lore are those detailed in the Torah -- Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Pesach (Passover), and Shavuot. Those that find their origin in the post-biblical days -- Hanukkah, Purim, Lag B'Omer, and Tisha B'Av -- are of secondary importance. The only reasons why Hanukkah gets the attention it does are because it falls in the month of December (when 95% of America is celebrating a certain other holiday) and because it is commemorated with an easy and engaging at-home ritual of lighting the menorah.

The gift exchange that has become traditional for Hanukkah was co-opted from our gentile brethren, so that Jewish children would not be left out of the Christmas retail binge, and does not have roots in pre-assimilation Judiasm. Traditionally, gelt (money) is given from parents to children to commemorate Hanukkah, while gifts of food and other goods are exchanged on Purim, as part of the tradition of Shalach Manot.

While I nonetheless accept people's wishes for a Happy Hanukkah, I believe that the best way to recognize our holiday would be to take note of when Rosh Hashanah falls next year and wish us a happy new year then. In the scheme of things, Rosh Hashanah (together with Yom Kippur) is our most major holiday, but an accident of the calendar makes most of society erroneously think that a secondary post-biblical celebration is the centerpiece of our tradition.