Happy Chanukah!
Today it's Chanukah! (in fact is was chanuka during the last three days, and will be still for the next 5 days too...) so happy Chanukah to everybody!
I heard it on the radio, and here's what I retained from the scattered interviews with dutch youngsters, and some additions from http://www.holidays.net/chanukah/story.html
The feast lasts 8 days (so it ends just before christmas, on the 23rd) and what the Jews do is light a candle every night (starting the night before the first day of Chanukah) in those well-known 7-arm chandeleers, give each-other presents, and eat jewish specialties. Apparrently the food is incredibly important. But I guess we already knew that from the nanny.
The reason for the festivities is an event which is in the old testament. About 2300 years ago, Judeah was under the reign of the Syrian king of Antiochus, who forced everybody to worship the greek gods, and to reject any other. Under the leadership of Judah a rebelling force was fomed: The Maccabees. (and hence Judah the Maccabee)
Chanukah celebrates that the maccabees succeeded in driving the Syrians out of Israel, and deliverance of the Temple in Jerusalem. When they cleered the temple of Greek statues, the jews wanted to light a holy eternal light in the temple, but there was only a lamp with oil for one day. By a mirracle, the oil however lasted eight days! And therefore Chanukah lasts 8 days.
Chanukah meant 'rededication' in the sense that the temple was now again dedicated to the Jewish god, instead of to the Greek ones.
and Maccabee means 'hammer'.
and because I was talking about it with someone: I guess the Jews are not allowed to use the name of God, or even the word 'god' since on that site they wrote 'G-d'.
And as I am only used to seeing swear-words not written out, I didn't understand the sentence for a moment...
