In honor of Hanukkah starting this Friday, I thought I would post a little bit of Hanukkah trivia. If you know of some trivia, post it in the comments...
There is only one night in which you light the menorah candles before sundown, on Shabbat.
I know that's not really that interesting, but I didn't know about that "rule" until recently, so it was interesting to me. Okay, so here's a little bit of Chanukkah lore that is slightly more interesting: The first time elephants were used in battle was by the Syrian-Greeks during the Maccabean War.
8 comments:
I don't know if this counts as Hanukkah trivia, more like favorite Hanukkah memory. When you were little, every year for Hanukkah we'd read a new Hanukkah story. My favorite was The Odd Potato. The children in the story make a hanukiyah from a potato, because they are unable to locate their menorah. The father had put it away after his wife died, and has been uninterested in celebrating any holidays. The daughter remembers a story her mother had told her about a family who was so poor they could not afford a hanukiyah and used a potato instead. When the father sees the potato hanukiyah, he remembers the story as well. What was looking like another sad holiday to him then turns into a happy remembrance.
I remember that book! I liked that one too.
Not really trivia either, but something i have definitely wondered about ...
Shouldnt there be a menorah somewhere in all the depictions of Jesus's birth, given that there was a good chance it occurred during hanukkah? Or is it not safe to light candles around all that hay?
Am i a bad person for wondering that? Or is med school just driving me crazy?
-m
Med School may be driving you crazy, but I like people who wonder. Where would be if no one ever "wondered" about things.
Actually, I think there is some scholarly debate about whether or not Jesus was born on December 25th. I've heard that it is more likely he was born in the spring.
Michael--If Jesus was born on December 25th in 5 BC (which is the year most scholars believe Jesus was born) then he was not born during Hanukkah. In that year, Hanukkah started in November and was over by the begining of December.
It is recognized by the church that Jesus was not born on December 25th. His bday is merely celebrated at this time due to politics.
When the roman empire became catholic, it was decided that one of the best ways to ease the transition of the society to the new religion was to celebrate new festivals coinciding with ones having been celebrated for hundreds of years. December 25th was traditionally the time of Saturnalia, a end of harvest festival celebrating preparation for the winter. This was the date chosen.
i was just joking, come on guys.
Actually Michael, what you posted is not universally accepted as true, and might not even be the majority viewpoint amongst Christians (it's certainly not held by any of the Christians I've discussed this issue with).
Besides, if you were coming back from exile in Egypt in order to fulfill a biblical prophecy and you had to make camp in a manger motel, would you really have the time or space to bring a heavy candleabra? And if you did, where would you put your laptop?
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