This year, the eight days of Hanukkah coincides with Thanksgiving. Hanukkah actually begins the evening before Thanksgiving because the Hebrew calendar begins in the evening. Hanukkah and Thanksgiving are both festivals to celebrate freedom. To the Pilgrims, Thanksgiving was a celebration of religious freedom from the oppressive rule of the King of England. For the Jews, it was a celebration of religious freedom from the tyrant, Antiochus Epipanes. Both the Pilgrims and the Jews threw off the yoke of tyranny. The Pilgrims had survived the harsh winter and the Jews had survived the harsh oppression of Antiochus Epiphanes.

Historically, Hanukkah has been a relatively minor festival commemorating the great victory of the Jews over Antiochus Epiphanes in 164BC, as recorded in First Maccabees. Three years earlier (167), Antiochus desecrated the holy altar of God at the Temple in Jerusalem by offering a pig as a sacrifice to Zeus. This was on December 25, the birthday of Zeus, who was the Greek high god and thought to be the incarnation of the sun.

Antiochus forbade the Jewish people to practice their religion. They could not practice circumcision, observe the Sabbath, celebrate the feasts, keep the dietary laws, study the Torah, or in any way, worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those who disobeyed were either tortured or killed or both. Their bodies were mutilated, and while still alive and breathing, they were crucified. The wives and sons whom they had circumcised were strangled. They were then crucified with the dead bodies of their children made to hang around their parent’s necks.

Although greatly outnumbered, and fighting the superpower of their time, God gave the Maccabeans a great victory. They tore down the pagan altar, cleansed the Temple and reestablished their religious practices.

Traditional writings tell us that when the Jews rededicated the altar to God they only had enough oil to burn the menorah for one day. But after the menorah was kindled, it miraculously burned for eight days, thus, the eight days of Hanukkah.

Hanukkah is called the Feast of Dedication and the Feast of Lights. Jesus celebrated this feast (John 10:22), which certainly makes it “kosher” for Christians. In fact, Jesus most likely was conceived by the Holy Spirit at Hanukkah and born during the Feast of Tabernacles. He is the ultimate human Temple/Tabernacle of God, and the true Light of the World who completely dedicated Himself to God.

Although Hanukkah has been celebrated for centuries, it has only been in recent times that it has gained importance. The central focus in celebrating Hanukkah is lighting the eight-branched menorah called a hanukkiah. The hanukkiah has a ninth candle called a Shamash. This word means servant. The servant candle is used to light the other eight.

From a Christian perspective, Jesus is the servant light who lights our lives with the fire of God as symbolized by the hanukkiah. Now that believers are also the Temple of God, we dedicate ourselves to God so the light of His life can shine through us. Let us not focus on the symbolism of Hanukkah but the person of Jesus. May we all be a living hanukkiah expressing the true meaning of Hanukkah as we rededicate ourselves to God during this holiday season. Or as Jesus said, “Let you light shine before men so they may see you good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). True freedom, whether at Thanksgiving or at Hanukkah, come from the Lord.

Happy Hanukkah and Happy Thanksgiving.