December is the time for two of the biggest holidays of the year, Hanukkah and Christmas. Both have their roots in the God of Israel, but they are different holidays. Perhaps a closer study of the two may show that they have a lot in common.
The Jews celebrate Hanukkah – The Feast of Dedication, also called the Festival of Light. The Christians celebrate Christmas- The Miracle of the Messiah Jesus’ Birth. Both groups of believers have the same foundation, “Faith in the one true God of Israel” and HIS promises to HIS people. To be clear, this is the same Heavenly Father who sent His only begotten son Jesus /Yeshua during this holiday season.
Both holidays are religious observances, meaning that these celebrations are not commanded by GOD as holy days and are not in the Bible scriptures. However, they are more of a product of cultural environments and histories, and they are designed to honor great blessings from God. Both holidays occur around or on December 25. In the year 2019, (Biblical year 5780) Hanukkah begins on December 22 and ends on December 30. Christmas is always December 25th, but socially, the season begins the day after Thanksgiving.
It should be noted there are also pagan events that adopt the date of December 25th. The “winter solstice,” when the days of winter get longer because there more hours of sunshine. Sun-worshipping pagans therefore celebrated December 25 as the birthday of the new sun. The sun-worshipping Romans and Greeks celebrate the birthday of the pagan god Zeus.
Christmas
Christians chose this date to celebrate the birth of the Messiah – Jesus the Christ, aka Yeshua the Messiah. It is not the date the savior was born, but the Roman Church in the fourth century A.D., chose December 25 as the day to celebrate “Christ’s Mass,” a special mass to honor Christ’s birth. It was part of a concerted effort to “Christianize” pagan Roman rites so all people of the empire could be brought into the Roman Church.
The Christian Festival of Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus the Christ as the “Light of the World.” A gift from God sent into earth to bring mankind salvation from sin. The gospels in the Old and the New Covenants give accounts of Yeshua / Jesus’ birth, but no date is recorded. However, Bible Scholar Michael Rood has given the date of September 26 during the Feast of Tabernacles as the date Yeshua was born. We all agree the Magi or wise men brought Him gifts.
Luke 2:8-14 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) – 8 In the countryside nearby were some shepherds spending the night in the fields, guarding their flocks, 9 when an angel of Adonai appeared to them, and the Sh’khinah of Adonai shone around them. They were terrified; 10 but the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, because I am here announcing to you Good News that will bring great joy to all the people. 11 This very day, in the town of David, there was born for you a Deliverer who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 Here is how you will know: you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.” 13 Suddenly, along with the angel was a vast army from heaven praising God: 14 “In the highest heaven, glory to God! And on earth, peace among people of good will!”
Isaiah 9:5-6 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) – (5) For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; dominion will rest on his shoulders, and he will be given the name Pele-Yo‘etz El Gibbor Avi-‘Ad Sar-Shalom [Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace], (6) in order to extend the dominion and perpetuate the peace of the throne and kingdom of David, to secure it and sustain it through justice and righteousness henceforth and forever. The zeal of Adonai-Tzva’ot will accomplish this.
Hanukkah
The Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah which is the Hebrew word for “dedication.” Hanukkah is an eight-day festival which occurs near the beginning of winter. On the Biblical Calendar, the celebration begins approximately the 25th day of Kislev, which is the 9th Biblical month and in the western world this is December.
Hanukkah celebrates the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem to the Lord, after it had been desecrated by the Greco-Syrian ruler Antiochus IV (Antiochus Theos Epiphanes aka Antiochus, the visible god). He wanted all Israel to be sun-god worshippers. Hanukkah tells the story of the Jewish Maccabean revolt against the Greeks that won Israel’s independence from Greco-Syrian oppression in 165 B.C. (Before Christ). It celebrates freedom from Greek influences in Jewish life and returning to God’s instructions for life and worship. The centerpiece is the relighting of the seven lamps (candlesticks) of the menorah in the Temple on Mount Zion, which is a symbol of God’s light and holiness in the world. As the Jews worked to restore the Temple, they found only enough oil to light the Menorah for one day. It would take another seven days until more oil could be made. The miracle of Hanukkah was that the lamp stayed lit for eight days until more oil was ready.
I feel it is important to point out; Israel was occupied and ruled by Antiochus IV, the Hellenistic king of the Seleucid-Syria Empire. He was Greek, a former general of Alexander the Great and wanted his new kingdom (including Israel) to be unified under a Hellenistic culture and serve the pagan Greek gods.
The New Testament tells us that Jesus/Yeshua participated in a Hanukkah observance at the Temple. In the book of John, we find Yeshua at the Temple during this Hanukkak season of remembrance, celebrating the victory GOD had given Israel over its enemies, the rededication of GOD’s Temple and the return to the Torah, GOD’s WORD.
John 10:22-30 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) – 22 Then came Hanukkah in Yerushalayim. It was winter, 23 and Yeshua was walking around inside the Temple area, in Shlomo’s Colonnade. 24 So the Judeans surrounded him and said to him, “How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us publicly!” 25 Yeshua answered them, “I have already told you, and you don’t trust me. The works I do in my Father’s name testify on my behalf, 26 but the reason you don’t trust is that you are not included among my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice, I recognize them, they follow me, 28 and I give them eternal life. They will absolutely never be destroyed, and no one will snatch them from my hands. 29 My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch them from the Father’s hands. 30 I and the Father are one.”
Conclusion
During this season of miracles and lights, our focus should be on the Light of the World and turning our hearts back to GOD. This is the time to remember that Yeshua / Jesus will be at any celebration that ignites our hearts and focuses on re-dedication to God.
Up Next: Part 2- What Christmas and Hanukkah Have in Common
References: I highly recommend the book, “The Feasts of the Lord” by Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal whose book was the primary source of information for this post.
