Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!
Hanukkah is an eight-day celebration that begins Sunday night and overlaps Christmas this year. It is a celebration of the rededication of the second Jewish temple and the miraculous burning of a temple lamp without enough oil, in 168 B.C. Jesus celebrated Hanukkah (John 10:22-23), so those who try to follow Jesus should be comfortable celebrating it also.
For Christians considering Hanukkah, some rich imagery unfolds. Luke 2:5:24 recounts the story of Jesus’s uncle Zacharias, who served as a temple priest. The shifts of his priests are known, allowing a seasonal dating of the conception of Jesus’s cousin John, who was six months older than Jesus. This places Jesus’ birth in early autumn, which means that Jesus was conceived around Hanukkah.
Follow the imagery: Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), who was conceived without any earthly father, during the season of Hanukkah. Hanukkah is the celebration of light which came from a sacred menorah, which miraculously burned without any earthly oil. Both refer to light coming from a divine origin.
In its roots, Christianity is a Jewish sect. The Roman government mixed Christianity with Roman culture, including the December 25th festival. However, more Christians these days are returning to their Jewish cultural roots.
I hope Jews will not mind more Christians celebrating Jewish holidays. On the positive side, Christians returning to their Jewish cultural roots tend to be among the most loyal allies of Jews in a world where, tragically, Jews have needed allies.
As a Christian, I still enjoy celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25. This happens to be the anniversary season of the greatest miracle of Christmas, the incarnation. However, it is also wonderful to discover the rich imagery that the Jewish festival of Hanukkah offers to followers of Jesus.
Mark Beeksma, Koloa
Happy Kwanzaa.
Nice stories, Mark.
However, I live by the creeds that “Religion is the opiate of the masses” and that religion has always been, and remains, as an impediment to world peace.
Back to nature and to science. Happy Solstice.
A completely unnecessary comment that does not relate to Mark’s very specific topics. If you want to comment on religion in general, using a worn out bumper sticker cliche about opium, then write a separate letter. Merry Christmas, Mark.
Not bad story. Many people today only go by with what they learned in school. The protestant reformation and about 1700 and what the Englanders brought over in the new found land USA. And that is bible only and few confession Christians. And not really knowing that their true roots dates back to the Jewish culture. In the story itself, they refer to as a group of people who originally were God’s people, the Children of Israel. Jewish community.
Here we find all kinds of rituals. One of them is baptism. And many more…
Kauaiboy,
This quote is from Karl Marx. His ideas led to the development of Communism, Fascism (labelled “National Socialism”), and Socialism. Fascists started World War 2, which led to the deaths of 75 million people. Communists killed around 100 million of their own people. This totals 175 million people who died because of Marx’s ideas.
There have been all kinds of religions in history. Some of which we would consider as evil (e.g. sacrificing your own children to your god). Marx’s ideas may have killed more people than any religion in history. By that definition, Marxism would be is a greater evil than any religion ever was.
Marx was, no doubt, criticizing Judeo-Christian religions, because he lived in Europe. As evil as Marxism has been, I would take his negative criticism of Judeo-Christian religions as a positive thing – something for us to be proud of.
That said, I am sorry that you may have had some kind of bad experience with religion.
Mark