What’s The Difference Between Christmas And Hanukkah:- It is finally the holiday season, and the temperatures are gradually but surely falling. The number of festive decorations is increasing with each passing day, and Christmas and Hanukkah are just around the corner.

But let’s take a moment to pause. Despite the fact that Christmas and Hanukkah are sometimes grouped together as winter holidays, they are not the same in terms of their religious and cultural significance, and their relationship is actually quite convoluted.

Hanukkah, on the other hand, does not have the same level of cultural significance as Christmas, which is a given in the United States. We are not simply referring to the fact that banks and schools will be closed or that employees will be given the day off. On a national scale and within Jewish communities in the United States, Hanukkah is not nearly as significant as it formerly was.

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What’s The Difference Between Christmas And Hanukkah

Cultural Significance

• Religiously, Hanukkah is lighter than Christmas. Christians revere Christmas because it commemorates Jesus’ birth. Shaul Kelner, Vanderbilt University Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, argues Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday.
• Passover, the most celebrated Jewish festival in America, and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are traditionally prioritized religiously. The Jewish bible doesn’t mention Hanukkah.
• Culturally, Jews don’t value Hanukkah as much as Christians do Christmas. Many Jewish Americans celebrate Hanukkah by lighting candles, eating latkes, giving gifts, and praying during the workweek.
• Then it’s bedtime and back to work the next morning to repeat seven times. Many celebrate Hanukkah as a happy supplement to otherwise routine days, spreading the holiday delight over eight days.
• We disagree on how to spell the holiday in English because it’s so undefined. Kelner prefers ‘Chanukah!’

The American Holiday Season

• Christmas may have given Hanukkah its relative importance in American Jewish culture. “Hanukkah is not the holiday season for Jews. In September and October, the High Holidays are celebrated, explains Kelner. Hanukkah is one of 12 Jewish holidays. The fact that it’s adjacent to Christmas makes it prominent.”
• The Jewish calendar is lunar, hence this relationship’s timing only works sometimes. In 2013, when Hanukkah began days after Thanksgiving in November, it was lovingly dubbed “Thanksgivukkah,” comparing it to Turkey Day rather than Saint Nick’s.
• Kelner says Jewish people frame Hanukkah in connection to American holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving to make it more understandable for the majority. Expanding on calendar coincidences makes the Jewish winter holiday more visible and festive.

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Holiday Ritual Options

• Christmas may be lonely for non-believers, so we Jews wanted to engage in the merriment while respecting our religion and traditions.
• As a symbol of holiday cheer, Hanukkah is celebrated with music, decorations (like a bush), and gift-giving rituals. “From the bottom up, the holiday became important because people chose to celebrate it.” Kelner says.
• Despite having little religious or cultural significance, Hanukkah has increased in importance and even taken on new meaning for American Jews. Kelner calls it a first-amendment holiday.
• The holiday has been promoted by American Jews as religious freedom. Hanukkah celebrates Jewish history.
• History says foreign invaders desecrated the Jewish holy temple in Jerusalem and stopped Jews from praying. Jews retook the temple and rededicated it to God, ensuring their religious freedom.

Extending Hanukkah Wishes

Wish your Jewish acquaintances a merry Hanukkah to acknowledge the holiday’s celebrations and new cultural importance. Christmas is easy to get caught up in. Baking or making a dish that honors Jewish cuisine culture may be requested. Anyhow, this is a simple way to unite. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, or other holiday.

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