In December both Christians and Jews hold candle-lighting rituals.
Christian families light the Advent wreath candles on the Sundays leading to Christmas, while Jewish families light a candle for each of the eight days of Hanukkah.
This year, 2024, in a rare calendar event, the commencement of Hanukkah coincides with Christmas night on 25 December. Can this coincidence of the Christian and Jewish liturgical cycles point us towards a deeper unity as Christians and Jews? One very practical suggestion offered at an Australian gathering of Christians and Jews, is that Christian homes light a candle and place it in the window on Christmas night, as Jewish homes begin their Hanukkah festivities. This would be a visible and public symbol of Christian solidarity with the Jewish community; a shared commitment to unity, hope and light in the face of the darkness of antisemitism.
Let’s delve further into the custom of candle-lighting. Christians are familiar with Advent and Christmas candles. But why do Jews light candles at Hanukkah?
Hanukkah means ‘dedication.’ This festival takes us back to the 2nd century BCE and recalls the re-dedication of the Jerusalem temple following the Maccabean uprising. The books of 1 & 2 Maccabees tell this story as the persecution of the Jewish population: forced conversions, brutal punishments, and defilement of the temple as a powerful Greek Hellenistic culture threatened to suppress Judaism. The text includes the gripping tales of Maccabean resistance and heroic martyrs, such as a Jewish mother and her seven sons who accepted torture and death rather than renounce the religious practices of their ancestors (2 Maccabees 7).
According to rabbinic tradition, when the Maccabeans reclaimed the temple and lit the temple menorah (lamp stand), a miracle occurred: amidst the ruins they could find only a small quantity of pure oil, enough for one day of light, yet the menorah stayed alight for eight days.
In the miracle of the cruse of oil, commentators note the courage of the Jews to attempt to light the menorah in the first place. Why bother when it seemed that the oil would not last beyond a day? The act of lamp-lighting indicates resilient hope and persistent faith.
In Hanukkah there is much to inspire Christians. Christians might ponder the idea that were it not for the reality that Hanukkah represents, had not the Jewish people prevailed time and again in history in the face of forces bent on their destruction, there would be no Jewish communities to carry on the traditions of their faith, to be a light to the nations. There would be no child Jesus born and raised in the teachings of the Torah. There would be no Christmas.
The nearness of a Jewish festival to Christmas can remind Christians that the little family in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago were faithful Jews who celebrated the festivals of their tradition according to the customs of their day.
Each in its unique way, Advent and Hanukkah engender a spirit of renewal. Remembering the re-dedication of the ancient temple, Jews today approach Hanukkah as a time for spiritual re-dedication of their lives. Meanwhile, Christians prepare their hearts to celebrate Christmas in accordance with their own sacred traditions.
For Catholics, Jewish-Christian reconciliation was a key teaching at the Second Vatican Council, a teaching taken up by other mainstream Churches too. The coinciding dates of Hanukkah and Christmas candle-lighting customs in the respective calendars of two different religious traditions affords an opportunity for Christians to show solidarity with Jewish friends, as the first Hanukkah candle is lit on the evening of 25 December 2024.
Together, may we spread light and hope and be a blessing for the world.
© Teresa Pirola, 2021, 2024. lightoftorah.net This article may be reproduced for non-commercial use with acknowledgement of website.
Light of Torah is a grassroots ministry based in the Catholic community in Australia, encouraging Christians to reflect on Torah with the help of Jewish insights.
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