“As a Jewish religious leader, I have mixed feelings,” said Rabbi Tina Sobo on the coincidence of the two holidays. “As a parent of young children, I’m somewhat ecstatic.”
Hanukkah “celebrates the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greek superpower in the second century BCE, during the time of the Second Holy Temple,” according to Aish.com. It also celebrates the miracle of a one-day supply of oil for the Temple’s menorah that lasted eight days.
Hanukkah is thus celebrated over eight nights and days, and starts at sundown on Kislev 25 in the Jewish calendar. The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, each month 29 days (and sometimes 30) days long.
“Knowing that date makes it even a little more fun in the overlap, that the eve (of) Kislev 25 equals December 25,” Sobo added.
The first day of Hanukkah has coincided with either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day eight times in the last 125 years, the most recent being Christmas Eve in 2016. The only four times that the first night of Hanukkah was on Christmas Day are 1910, 1921, 1959, and the most recent year, 2005.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
It’s actually even more rare for the first day of Hanukkah to fall on Thanksgiving. In 2013, Hanukkah fell on Thanksgiving for the first time since 1888, and won’t do so again until 2070. After that, we won’t have another Thanksgiving Hanukkah until 2165.
Hanukkah next falls on Christmas Eve in 2027, and won’t fall on Christmas Day again until 2035.
Though Christmas and Hanukkah are mostly separate entities, there are many similarities between them, such as the emphasis on communal gatherings, sharing gratitude, and hope, Sobo said.
“In the grand scheme of Judaism, it’s a minor festival, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it wasn’t fun or taking over my house right now,” she said.
Hanukkah is primarily observed in the home, with lighting of the menorah, and families will make latkes, eat jelly donuts, play dreidel, exchange gifts, sing songs, and the like, though gift-giving is more common in the United States than elsewhere.
“My favorite part of the week leading up to Hanukkah is being invited to go around town and share about the holiday with groups,” Sobo said.
The menorah has nine candles, one for each day of the holiday and the shamash, the helper candle. When telling others about the holiday, Sobo says the shamash is her favorite.
“We could light the menorah with eight branches and just use a lighter or match to light them, but the rabbis of old made it such that we have the helper candle,” she said. “That candle spreads its light, warmth, and joy with the other candles, all the while losing none of its own light. It just makes the room brighter by sharing.”
“I think it is our reminder to be the helper, to share and spread joy, light, and warmth, especially when it takes nothing, or very little, of ourselves to do so,” she said.
Sobo and her husband get a little bit of a break this year, as last year, Hanukkah fell entirely before her kids’ winter break, she said.
“Amid winter play rehearsals, school concerts, and every activity pre-break, holiday this-or-that, we had to squeeze in our own celebrations, daily homework and chores, and still hit school-night bedtime,” she said.
Sobo said she is frequently asked by non-Jews whether it is OK to do certain things if attending Hanukkah celebrations. The short answer? Don’t be afraid to ask your host.
“It is totally appropriate to eat the foods, play the games, and the like,” she said. “There are blessings over the menorah about being commanded by God to kindle the lights — that’s probably the one part I’d say watch, but don’t actively participate. Not all families exchange gifts (or do so every night) and ask if food items need to be certified as kosher, but it would be totally appropriate (but at least for me, not expected) to bring a little toy for the kids or some candy.”
About the Author
