Hanukkah: Breaking stereotypes

Micol AzcarateStaff WriterAdam Sandler’s Hanukkah song is right: “it is so much funukkah to celebrate Hanukkah.” But what is Hanukkah really?Nowadays we live in a materialistic age where it is almost unthinkable to have any form of celebration without an exchange of gifts. Presents have become the central focus of many holidays like Hanukkah, but (surprise, surprise) in reality, its origins have nothing to do with gifts.Hanukkah actually commemorates the Jewish people’s triumph over religious persecution, and the strength and spiritual resolve of the Jewish people when they were a minority against the Seleucid Greeks. However, due to Hanukkah’s proximity to Christmas on the calendar, it has become customary for Jewish parents to hand presents to their children on each of the eight nights of the holiday.Considering Hanukkah is essentially all about Jewish individualism and being distinct from the other mainstream religions, it is quite ironic to adopt a Christian tradition.“Hanukkah should be about unity and not about emulating some other religion’s customs, especially seeing as Jewish unity is such a crucial aspect of the Jewish culture,” Jake Feffer (’15) said. “All religions and cultures create communities, but the Jewish religion is particularly tribal, even today.”There are many theories about how and why this tribalism has evolved, but Jane Khalameizer (’13) believes it came as a result of centuries of persecution.“Throughout history, Jews have been enslaved, endured a holocaust and are currently fighting to protect Israel,” Khalameizer said. “Many Jewish teenagers are very proud of their heritage and so people form youth groups because they want to keep Judaism alive.”Despite Jews’ innate attraction to clans, interestingly enough, many don’t know the real roots of Hanukkah.“Many of my friends think of Hanukkah as the Jewish Christmas, but it isn’t at all,” Ariel Naim (’15) said. “Religious holidays shouldn’t be compared to other holidays because they each serve different purposes.”While Christmas is the main Christian holiday (along with Easter), Hanukkah does not hold this title in the Jewish culture, and is in fact merely a secondary celebration.Some of Judaism’s most important holidays are Passover, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah but many people think Hanukkah is the most significant holiday because it usually takes place in December.Of course the market and media take advantage of this in order to make more money and make it nearly impossible for Jewish parents to refuse to buy gifts for their children.“It must be hard for Jewish families who wish to respect traditions not to give in and conform to what society views Hanukkah as,” Eleanor Reynolds (’14) said. “This surely brings about great profits for stores, because now it’s not only Christmas gifts people need to buy, there’s Hanukkah gifts too.”As is natural in a consumerist society, for many, the idea of receiving presents is a force superior to that of simple family bonding and reflection. While there is nothing wrong with holidays that involve giving gifts, it is important to be aware of the real purpose of Hanukkah, which is to come together as a family and honor the strength of a community and the miracles that enabled it to prosper.mazcarate@thesamohi.com