Celebrating Hannukah 2024

[AgileGreenSeal]

Hanukkah 2024 begins at sundown on Wednesday, December 25 and ends the evening of Thursday, January 2, 2025

I’m interested in whether any other Christians are thinking of celebrating this festival? If so, what are your plans?

What a great resource.
thank you! 👍🏻👏🏻

@MNHQ thank you.

This is a Christian organisation. Not Jewish.

Not what their website says!

They exist to convert Jews to Christianity. That is their raison d'etre.
They are not Jews.

They are well known proselytisers

Im giving better information as to what this group is about if anyone is thinking of visiting their site for Jewish information. They are not Jewish.

I'm a Christian, raised Catholic (Irish mother) but Eastern German Jewish on my father's side. My Claudia Roden Book of Jewish food will help me come up with a new and different dish to try out this year. I adore Middle Eastern Jewish dishes because they're so delicious and a departure from the Ashkenazi fare I'm used to. Still, latkes, brisket, borscht, challah French toast and spinning the dreidel will kick off the festivities. Dreidel's always a big hit.

Oh damn. Hadn't realised this thread had gone rogue by the time I posted.
I should just start an I Heart Claudia Roden thread. She's yet to be truly acknowledged as the National Treasure she is.

I'm Jewish and I wasn't aware that Christian's celebrated Chanukah. Chag Sameach!

Not all, but those of us who feel very connected to our Jewish roots do. Sadly, some use it to stir up division, as seen earlier on this thread, but we move on. Thank you for teaching me something new today, and I wish you too Chag Sameach.

My sister told me it was Hanukkah and we were talking about having a menorah. We were raised catholic. In our church we definitely thought about the Jewish calendar. I remember a beautiful Passover feast at the church when I was a young teen. And me and all my catholic cousins were very interested in the Jewish faith and traditions. Also my catholic grandmother always wore a Star of David.

I'm Jewish and while I'm in favour of festivals full stop - the more the better - this thread makes me really uncomfortable.
In fact it feels very much like cultural appropriation.

By all means learn about Chanukah and other festivals if you want to, but there are around 2,000 years of Jewish history since the time of Jesus and the break off of Christianity from Judaism, so.... you know, Jewish culture and Jewish festivals are not yours. The Chanukah story is in fact in part about the persecution and forced assimilation of Jewish people.

If you want to light a Chanukiah and eat some doughnuts then it's not hurting anyone, go for it, but maybe think a bit more deeply about all of this.

And please leave Jews for Jesus out of it, they are absolutely not a Jewish organisation, they are about converting people to Christianity.

Claudia Rosen's book of Jewish food is an excellent (and delicious) place to start understanding Jewish culture.

Perhaps some of you may be interested in one of my church pastor's series on the Torah, and various Jewish festivals. He lived in Israel for 26 years, speaks Hebrew and is director of the CMJ - Church's Ministry amongst Jewish people. I love his Torah portion each week, it follows the Jewish cycle of study throughout the year. Hanukkah is yet to come this year but this is Rev Aaron Eime's talk on it from last year (when he was still in Jerusalem).

And this is his Torah portion playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxkCWTsFnnxs7T_4n942YcI50Q8xRlwOK

For me, it makes me feel uncomfortable to use this thread as a way to evangelise to our Jewish friends, and it is unnecessarily complicating the simplicity of the opening post.

For me as a Christian, I feel a very close affiliation to my Jewish roots and history. I enjoy learning about the celebrations and festivals that as Rabbi and a Jewish man, Jesus would have participated.

For me, I have appreciated the input about the festivals by our Jewish friends and visitors to this thread.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the clear rise of antisemitism world wide and the wicked and evil stated aims of some organisations to annihilate the Jewish peoples, compels me to stand alongside those people who share my Creator. Therefore, for me, I will continue to share in appropriate Jewish celebrations … this does NOT change my Christian reasons for observing Christmas and the joyous celebration of the Easter message of my Lord’s resurrection.

Well said, Oceangreyscale.

@user243245346 thank you x
Chag Sameach 💕

The Hanukkah feast is a tradition of man, not one of the 7 Feasts of the God of Heaven, therefore keeping it will be in vain

I doubt the Lord was celebrating a feast not ordered by God

I agree. It was the Passover Feast that lead me into all Truth. All of the 7 Feasts of the God of Heaven point to Christ. The Passover Feast we are to acknowledge forever. It is no coincidence that Passover that year was the same as Creation week when it commenced and finished with Our Lord resting the 7th day in His grave and the rising again on the first day (to mark a new beginning of Creation). One which is Eternal. For the saints of the Most High

The Sacrifice was once, for all

Christians are from the line of Judah. We share the same God as Jewish people. The Word of God Stands, not mans

Your doubt is noted.
However the scripture states that He did.
Please see John 10:22-23.

I do not know what type of Bible you use, but as a Jewish man, our Lord would have celebrated this Jewish festival, and was described as doing so in Scripture. The feast is known by several names over time, and we now know it as Hanukkah or Chanukkah.