Everywhere you turn, lights shine in the darkness, proclaiming that God’s eternal presence is with us. Homes, trees, and buildings are draped with colorful Christmas lights. Pink and purple advent candles beautify Christian sanctuaries. And for eight nights during this season, Jewish homes and spaces are also adorned with Hanukkah menorahs. (Toward the end of the month, persons of African descent will honor the principles of Kwanzaa with seven candles, too.)

While Hanukkah is a distinctly Jewish holiday, and Christmas is a distinctly Christian holiday, the two are actually more connected than you might think. In fact, in some ways, Hanukkah is actually the original Advent.

Let me explain.

The History of Hanukkah

Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Dedication, commemorates the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its utter desecration at the brutal hands of a tyrant named Antiochus Epiphanes. All this took place about 165 years before the birth of Christ. Although Hanukkah only gets a line or two in the New Testament, it plays a massive role in the birth of Jesus.

To explain that, we have to go back in history over three hundred years before the birth of Christ to Alexander the Great.  At that time, he ruled the ancient world around the Eastern Mediterranean.  After conquering the Persian Empire, Greek Culture or Hellenism spread like wildfire.  The Jews living in Israel quickly found themselves surrounded and almost swallowed up by it.

Hellenism was to the ancient world what Western culture is to the modern world.  Just as you can find a McDonald’s in just about every corner of the world, not to mention American pop music, blue jeans, TV re-runs, Western-style Christianity, and the English language, so in that day, you could find Greek culture, religion, and language permeating every other culture of the world.  It wasn’t all good.  Especially for those in the minority, like the Jews, it put their unique way of life at risk.

After Alexander died, his empire eventually fell into the hands of one Antiochus IV Epiphanes.  While Epiphanes means “face of God,” the Jews called him “Epimanes,” which means “crazy man.”  That’s precisely what he was.  Gregory Rommon calls him “the Adolf Hitler of the inter-testament period.” Like Hitler, he was obsessed with wiping out the Jewish people.  He began with the slaughter of Jerusalem’s inhabitants and the Temple’s desecration.

Alfred Edersheim explains what happened in his book, “The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah:”  “All sacrifices, the service of the Temple, and the observance of the Sabbath and feast days were prohibited; the Temple at Jerusalem was dedicated to Jupiter Olympus (a Greek god); the Torah was searched for and destroyed; the Jews forced to take part in heathen rites; in short, every insult was heaped on the religion of the Jews, and it’s every trace to be swept away.”  Antiochus was bent on genocide.

The final straw was the slaughter of a pig on the sacrificial altar in the Temple.  Definitely not kosher.  This occurred on the 25th of Kislev, the month that generally corresponds to December.

Well, this atrocity cut the Jewish people to the core.  The Temple was the center of Jewish life.  It was the icon of all that was holy and meaningful.  It was the place where God dwelled!  The Jewish people weren’t going to take this lying down.

And so a deliverer rose up whose name was Mattathias.  Outnumbered and overpowered, under his leadership, the Jewish people began a campaign of guerilla warfare against Antiochus and his Syrian armies to reclaim the Temple.

Mattathias died fighting, but his five sons carried on, one of whose name you might know:  Judah Maccabee (which means hammer).  He led the fighting till the Temple could finally be purified and its services restored.  Exactly three years after its desecration, the Temple was rededicated with the lighting of the Ner Tamid, the eternal light that burned to signify the presence of God.  It was on the 25th of  Kislev, about 165 years before the birth of Christ.

Hanukkah is an Advent Story

While Hanukkah has its own meaning, in some ways, it is actually an Advent story.  Without Hanukkah, there would be no Christmas.  If Antiochus had carried out his plan, there would have been no Mary, Joseph, or Jesus.  There would have been no Messiah of Israel, no Savior of the World.  And you and I would not be Christians today.

Jesus owed his life to Hanukkah.  In a sense, Christians owe their faith to it.  As the rhyme goes, “Roses are reddish; Violets are bluish; if it weren’t for Christmas, we’d all be Jewish!” But if it weren’t for Hanukkah, there’d be no Jews or Christians!

And so, amid this Advent Season, let us remember the minor Jewish holiday that makes the major Christian one possible.  Even though Hanukkah is mentioned once in the New Testament, it’s an important backdrop to one of his most profound statements.  It was on the Feast of Dedication that Jesus said:  “The Father and I are one.”  That statement of unity changed the world.

Unity for Today

Today, we’re still seeking to create a world of unity.  In the chaos and division that we see all around us, God calls us to stand up for one another in love and grace so that the light of Christ might be seen.  A love that binds together what is divided; a hope that can move mountains of despair, a faith that can overcome any obstacle.  This is the miracle of Hanukkah and the promise of Christmas.

In a time when anti-Semitism and many other -isms are on the rise, Hanukkah reminds us that we must stand together against all forms of injustice, violence, and hate. It tells us that no matter what, we must allow others the freedom and dignity to worship God in their own way, too.

And so this Advent, as Christmas approaches and Hanukkah comes, may we remember the message of unity it brings us. May we take every opportunity to honor one another’s differences and celebrate our common humanity. And may God grant us the ability to be light in a world of darkness.

Differences aren’t bad or evil. And they needn’t lead to chaos or division. Instead, differences can bring joy and strength. Join me for 3 Steps to Engage Conflict Productively to learn how you can be part of the solution.

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