The Jewish holiday begins a little early this year.
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Mark your calendars for the 25th day of the month of Kislev. That's when Hanukkah starts in 2012. For those of us who aren't so tuned into the Jewish calendar, that translates to sundown on Saturday Dec. 8. The holiday, also called the Festival of Lights, lasts eight days. Hanukkah commemorates the story of the Maccabean Revolt against Syrian rulers in present day Israel 2,300 years ago. The Maccabees wanted to rededicate Jerusalem's main temple, but had only enough oil to kindle the Eternal Light for one day. Yet the oil lasted for eight, according to the story, and thus the holiday of Hanukkah was born. Today, the holiday is celebrated by gathering together with family, lighting a menorah over the course of eight days, playing dreidel …
Even if you’re not lighting a "menorah" this season, here’s five things you might not have known about Hanukkah.
Hanukkah, the Jewish “festival of lights,” is right around the corner. The eight-day holiday began at sunset on Tuesday, Dec. 20, and ends at sunset on Wednesday, Dec. 28. When most people think of Hanukkah--sometimes spelled “Chanukah” because of its pronunciation in Hebrew--they think of dreidels, the nine-armed version of a menorah called a Chanukiah, and Adam Sandler. But here’s a few things you might not know about the world’s most oft-misspelled holiday: 1. The dates of Hanukkah are always different. Well, at least to our calendar. If you had a Hebrew calendar on-hand, you’d see that Hanukkah always begins on the 25th day of the Jewish month Kislev. For our Gregorian calendar, Hanukkah can begin anywhere between late November and …
