Peter Carruthers
The Jewish festival of Hanukkah, or the ‘Feast of Dedication’, starts at sunset today, 7 December, exactly two months after the horrific massacre in Israel on 7 October. The festival continues for eight days finishing on 15 December.
Christmas traditionally runs for twelve days from 25 December concluding with the feast of Epiphany on 6 January.
Both festivals take place close to each other in the middle of winter and sometimes coincide exactly. The first day of Hanukkah is the twenty-fifth day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. Now, there’s a coincidence!
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the desecrated Temple, following the liberation of Jerusalem by the Maccabees from the tyrannical rule of the Hellenistic king, Antiochus Epiphanes, in 165 BC. Like Hamas, he also tortured, burnt and dismembered his enemies, as 2 Maccabees 6:1-7:42 describes.
The story is recorded in the two books of Maccabees. Later, a legend arose that, when they were cleaning up the Temple, they only found enough oil to light the menorah for one day, but it miraculously lasted eight days; hence the Hanukkah menorah has eight lights. The festival is, therefore, observed by the lighting of an eight-branched menorah.
Jesus did not, of course, celebrate Christmas. But He did celebrate Hanukkah, as recorded in John 10:22-31. Hanukkah was a re-run of the earlier Feast of Tabernacles (because Antiochus had banned it). Both ran for eight days. Both were ‘festivals of light’, with the lighting of the big menorah in the Temple and of lights in homes. And Jesus’ teaching on the ‘light of the world’ took place around these two festivals (John 9:1-10:39).
Whether or not the eight-branched menorah was used in Jesus time, it is interesting that the tradition is to light the eight lights (one more on each day of the festival) from a ninth, which is usually higher than the others. This is the shamash or ‘deacon’ – the servant light that comes down to light the other lights.
Because of its origins, expectations of liberation were high at Hanukkah time – hence the interchange in John 10.
‘Light’ and ‘liberation’ are central to the Christmas story also, as, for example, in the songs of Mary (Luke 1:46-55), Zechariah (Luke 1:67-79) and Simeon (Luke 2:29-32), the story of the Shepherds (Luke 2:8-20), and John’s ‘preface’ (John 1:1-17) – the true light comes into the world to give light to all (John 1:9) and to liberate us from the oppression of sin.
Hanukkah remembers and represents the overcoming of evil, oppression and false religion, the putting away of the Hellenists’ humanism and paganism and a return to true faith, and, especially, a rededication of worship.
Is ‘dedication’ in the Christmas story? Yes! The coming of God into the world as a man starts with Mary’s, ’be it unto me according to thy word’ – with her dedicating her entire life to the fulfilling of God’s eternal purpose (Luke 1:38). That is when and how light and liberation came into the world. And if Jesus was actually born during the Feast of Tabernacles (for which there is a good case), then the Angel’s visit and Mary’s assent could well have taken place during Hannukah.
In the present turmoil, these two festivals of light, liberation and dedication, surely have a particular immediacy and special significance. Even in the deepest darkness the light still shines and the darkness does not overcome it (John 1:5). Rather, Jesus, the light of the world, has vanquished the darkness and liberated us from evil. And He calls and enables us (like the Maccabean martyrs) to be faithful to Him "even unto death" (Revelation 2:10).
Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all, to you be glory and praise for ever. In the darkness of this passing age, your saints proclaim the glory of your Kingdom, revealed among us in Christ, our light. Open our eyes to behold your presence and join our song with those of the saints in praise of all your marvellous deeds, Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Blessed be God for ever.