The Eight Nights of Hanukkah

So, why has our family chosen to celebrate Hanukkah anyway? It's simple... Jesus celebrated The Feast of Dedication. It reminds us that God is still the God of miracles. Jesus declared Himself the "light of the world" all three times during Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights. In Hebrew, Hanukkah means "rededication." For our family, it is a time of rededicating our lives, our home, and our family to The Messiah and His kingdom.

It is the eight-day Jewish holiday that celebrates the rededicating of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Maccabees. In 175 BC, King Antiochus IV of Syria ruled over Judea and the Jewish people. Among his many decrees, the king insisted that the Jews worship the Greek gods. The Jewish people refused to worship any other gods but the one true God, Jehovah. A man named Mattathias and his five sons formed a group whom today we call the Maccabees. They were a small but determined group that fought King Antiochus and his army for several years. God was faithful and the city of Jerusalem was regained.

However when the Maccabees reached the temple, they discovered it had been nearly destroyed by the Syrians. The great seven-branched lampstand, meant to burn day and night in the holy of holies, stood dark and neglected. The temple was cleaned and repaired. In the process, it was discovered that there was very little oil for the lampstand. Yet when the lampstand was lit, a miracle occurred: the oil which should have only burned one day continued to burn eight days until more oil was available.

A great resource to learn more about Hanukkah can be found HERE.