Christmas or Hanukkah
Mary, when you kissed your baby, you have kissed the face of GOD.
Many parents are opting to homeschool their children instead of the public schools. Let me be the first to say that there are many excellent teachers and employees within the public system, and I volunteer at a school near my church. I love the children and staff.
So, why do people homeschool or send their children to churches or synagogues for their education?
Some parents choose a homeschool program that may have a religious component within the curriculum that teaches in the way a parent believes.
For instance, to the Christian, Christmas on December 25th is the story of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It celebrates a child of divine nature that will bring joy to the world.
Members of the Jewish community celebrate Hanukkah which is the Hebrew word meaning “dedication”. Hanukkah is also written Hannuka or Chanukah. The holiday begins on the eve of the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev (on the Hebrew calendar) and lasts eight days. Hanukkah usually falls in the month of December, but occasionally it may start in November.
The Feast of Dedication was a powerful moment in history. In spite of the filth of the blood from unclean animals that were sacrificed by Syrians to their deities, Adonai caused a miracle of magnificent glory. This miracle is the reason for the Hanukkah observance. After the Syrian priests made offerings to the fertility gods of Baal and Asherah (Baal’s wife), which defiled the Temple, the Lord caused the Menorah Lamps to continue to burn for eight days, although there wasn’t enough oil remaining.
Here is the importance of this miracle: The priest was responsible for the Menorah fire burning continuously, and the Shewbread, which represented the bread from Heaven (Son of God) was always supposed to be together with the Burning Lamp.
So, if the fire of the Lamp went out, it would indicate that the Holy Spirit was missing or that the Father was not one with the Son.
Now, the miracle is that God, Himself was causing the Menorah lamp to burn without a priest’s intervention.
To the Jew, who does not celebrate “Christmas,” but observe “Hanukkah,” this observance is called the Jewish Feast of Lights or Feast of Dedication.
John 10:22 the Feast of Dedication. This festival was celebrated for eight days.
25 Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name.26 But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep.27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.30 The Father and I are one.”
The word “Christmas” comes from the old English “Cristes maesse”, or the mass of Christ. It is likely that the Christmas date of December 25 was chosen to offset the Pagan celebrations of Saturnalia and Natalis Invicti. It also possible that the celebration of the birth of the “true light of the world” was set at the time of the December solstice because this is when the days in the northern hemisphere begin to grow longer. Christmas holiday customs derive from various cultures, including Teutonic, Celtic, Roman, West Asian and Christian. https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/common/christmas-day
It was forbidden to practice Judaism, celebrate Jewish holidays, or study Torah. A Jew named Mattathias, and his son Judah, known as Judah Maccabee, led a revolt against the Syrian army. Called Maccabees, the revolutionaries fought for three years against the much-stronger Syrian army and finally prevailed. Jerusalem was liberated and the Temple returned to Jewish control. But when the Jews entered the Temple, they found that it had been desecrated with statues of Greek gods and discovered that there was only enough pure oil to rekindle the eternal flame, the ner tamid, for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, long enough to purify new oil and rededicate the Temple.
The origin of the current celebration, known as Christmas got its start long before Christianity and is on the wrong side of the Bible story. Saturnalia was a pagan feast from a different religious belief. The name of the feast was changed several times until the story of baby Jesus was added to, which cause its Christianization and acceptance and longevity.
In 167 BC Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the temple in Jerusalem, as prophesied in Daniel 11:31.
The Maccabeans restored and purified the temple. In commemoration of the restoration, the Feast of Dedication was instituted.
Today it is also known as the Feast of Lights or Hanukkah. While the Book of Maccabees is usually found in older Bibles, the books of the Maccabees tell the story of Hanukkah which occurred in 165 B.C.
After three years of struggle, the Jews in Judea defeated the Syrian tyrant Antiochus. The Jewish people held festivities in the Temple of Jerusalem and rededicated it to God.
Deuteronomy 16:21-22 21 “You are not to plant any sort of tree as a sacred pole beside the altar of Adonai your God that you will make for yourselves. 22 Likewise, do not set up a standing-stone; Adonai your God hates such things.
We know that Christ attended the Feast of Lights or Hanukkah, because the Bible places Him there when Christ proclaimed “I am the Light of the world“(John 8:12-14).
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. 13 The Pharisees, therefore, said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. 14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
Amp Jeremiah 10:3-5
3 The religion of these peoples
is nothing but smoke.
An idol is nothing but a tree chopped down,
then shaped by a woodsman’s ax.
4 They trim it with tinsel and balls,
use hammer and nails to keep it upright.
5 It’s like a scarecrow in a cabbage patch—can’t talk!
Deadwood that has to be carried—can’t walk!
Don’t be impressed by such stuff.
It’s useless for either good or evil.”
The Complete Word Study Bible
Dictionary Definition
H842. אֲשֵׁרָה ’ašērāh, אֲשֵׁירָה ’ašēyrāh: A feminine noun which signifies the Canaanite fertility goddess believed to be the consort of Baal. Because of this association, the worship of Baal and Asherah was often linked together (Judg. 3:7; 1 Kgs. 18:19; 2 Kgs. 23:4).
The noun is most often used for a carved wooden image of the goddess instead of a proper name (Judg. 6:26; 1 Kgs. 14:15). This image was frequently associated with high places and fresh (i.e., green) trees.
Jeremiah 17:1 The Hebrew word Asherim (“Asherah poles”) in Jeremiah 17:2 denotes either the Canaanite goddess named Asherah (the singular form of the word) or some object associated with pagan worship in Israel and Judah. Of the 40 occurrences of the term in the Old Testament, only four of them refer to the proper name given to the goddess; the remaining usages all signify something either constructed of wood or planted. We may assume that a wooden object — perhaps a tree or a pole — was used to symbolize the goddess in Canaanite religion.
Jews found only one small cruse of oil which to light their holy lamps. Miraculously, the cruise provided oil for eight days. Judas Maccabaeus, the Jewish leader, then proclaimed a festival to be observed by Jews.
During Hanukkah, gifts are exchanged and contributions are made to the poor. Each evening, one additional candle is lit on the Hanukkah menorah (candelabra). By the last evening, eight lighted candles stand together.
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