Today is the first day of Hanukkah, Chanukah and/or חנוכה the Jewish holiday that is spelled a hundred ways in English. Along with the joy of the holiday is the sadness that this minor holiday is continually hijacked by the ACLU and other liberal groups who have no idea what the holiday means.
It happens every year at this time: the battles of political correctness. When a community puts up a Christmas tree, one of two things happens. Either there is a battle to take it down, or someone fights to get a Chanukkiyah (that’s the real name, not Menorah), Kwanzaa candles, or a symbol of some other religion’s holiday placed right next to it. Then Fox News follows by running stories about the latest battle in the “war against Christmas,” and the ACLU starts suing any town whose mayor ever went to a church, mosque, and/or synagogue. Hey, ACLU: Give it up. America is a Christian country.
People who see December as an opportune time for the celebration of politically correct multiculturalism have to stop! I understand that people are trying to be fair, but it just doesn’t make sense.
I can’t speak for the other holidays, but I can tell you that as Jewish holidays go Chanukah is among the least important, unlike the “big ones” Passover, Sukkot, or Shavuot you can work, drive, etc. Guess what, the Books of the Maccabees weren’t even included in the Jewish canon (that’s another and and more political story).
Guess what? It’s not a Holiday Tree, a Tree of Life, or a Celebration Bush, its a Christmas Tree. Nothing goes against the true meaning of Chanukah more than placing a Chanukkiyah near a “holiday tree” or using a “Jewish star” or Dreidel as a tree ornament. The true meaning of Chanukah is the exact opposite of that multicultural rubbish.
Only part of the story was the Maccabees fight for getting the Greeks out of Israel, and the cleansing and dedication of the Temple. A huge part of the Chanukah Story was about a civil war amongst the Jews. Matthias Maccabee and his boys were fighting other Jews who had turned away from their faith by combining it with Greek/Hellenistic practices. The resulting assimilation caused a loss of Jewish faith and tradition, and finally laws against practicing Jewish ritual.
Chanukah is a holiday about Jews fighting against assimilation, but the ACLU-types would have us celebrate it by assimilating.
Let me suggest that if Matthias and his sons were alive today, they would be fighting every Jew who wanted a six-foot menorah next to a Christmas tree in the town square, a star of David next to a cross, or even the mass attack of the multi-holiday, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus and Winter Solstice display.
America is not a melting-pot its more like a gumbo where all the elements are in the same pot and existing together, but maintaining its original form. As Americans, we are all different and we must celebrate those differences, not merge them into one hodgepodge of progressive mediocrity celebrating everything at the same time, while truly celebrating absolutely nothing.
Jewish people who celebrate both holidays, who”have a Christmas Tree for the kids” are also missing the meaning of Chanukah. The Maccabees were horrified when an idol was placed in the holy Temple. Rather than trying to fit with “modern” culture, they wanted to make sure that the holy Temple, the House of God was a pure Jewish household. To remember the Maccabees, we should make sure to make our homes pure Jewish households also.
The Rabbis tell us that we are not to use the Chanukah candles for reading or seeing, as we would with a regular candle or a light bulb. The Chanukkiyah is supposed to be placed near a window so the light of God and his miracles will shine outward into the world.
Many people know that word Maccabee is Hebrew for Hammer, but it is also an acronym for the Hebrew phrase, “Mi chamocha ba-elim Hashem” Who is like You among the powers in Heaven O God? Everything about Chanukah is a way to praise our maker for blessing us with the traditions and rituals of being Jewish. Mixing up Chanukah with other people’s traditions diminishes the light and message of Chanukah as well as those other traditions.
And to my Christian friends: Please don’t go get assimilated on me either. That tree in the mall is a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree. Santa is not a secular character; he is Saint Nick. You have a nice tradition. Allow me to suggest that you “Keep the Christ in Christmas.” Don’t try to make it politically correct by taking away its religious nature or diminishing it with the holiday of others. Oh, and I promise not to get mad if you wish me a Merry Christmas. That too is an important day in the Jewish calendar, its when we go to see the hot movies without lines and then have a great meal at the nearest (Kosher) Chinese restaurant.
America is a great country. It is great not because everyone celebrates the same, but because we can all celebrate our differences.
Chanukah starts today so to all my friends celebrating the holiday Chag Chanukah Samayach. Happy Chanukah Holiday.
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