CELEBRATE HANUKKAH WITH JEWISH SOCIETY & DOUGHNUTS
Join Herts SU & Jewish Society in Hutton Hall to learn about the wonderful celebration of Hanukkah.
Hosted ahead of this year's Hanukkah celebrations, grab a free sweet treat before getting to know Herts' Jewish Society & how you can get involved with them
Is a ticket required?
Yes, we ask that you purchase a free ticket so we know how many students to expect.
What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah, otherwise known as Chanukah, is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime festival of lights, celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods.
The Hebrew word Chanukah means “dedication,” and is thus named because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple.
In the second century BCE, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of mitzvah observance. Against all odds, a small band of faithful but poorly armed Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of God.
When they sought to light the Temple's Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, they lit the menorah and the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.
To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah.
At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah lighting. The menorah holds nine flames, one of which is the shamash (“attendant”), which is used to kindle the other eight lights. On the first night, we light just one flame. On the second night, an additional flame is lit. By the eighth night of Chanukah, all eight lights are kindled.
For further information about Hanukkah, click here.
When is Hanukkah?
This year, Hanukkah will start on the evening of Wednesday, December 25, 2024. It will end on the evening of Thursday, January 2, 2022. Each year, Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of Kislev, which is the ninth month of the Jewish calendar. It ends on the second day of Tevet, which is the tenth month of the Jewish calendar. So why does it fall on a different day each year? The Hebrew calendar is a lunar one, which means it's based on the cycles of the moon. Meanwhile, the Gregorian calendar, which is the one most of us use every day, is a solar calendar. That means it's based on the Earth's movement around the sun. Since the calendars follow different cycles, a holiday the falls on a fixed date on one calendar will fall on a different day each year on the other.
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