What does each day of Hannukah represent?
831631
chanukah isn't a very important holiday :) the days don't really represent anything, the reason its 8 days long is because chanukah celebrates when the maccabees won the freedom of the jews from the greek oppressors who forbade them to practice judaism and who were defiling the temple with idols and sacrifices of unkosher animals. when the maccabees won back their freedom they cleaned up the temple and lit the menorah with oil that should have lasted for only 1 day, but instead the candles burnt for 8 days, and voila you get 8 days of chanukah
499124
Amen.\nEvery day is.\nPRAISE GOD!\n:)\nhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/bibletruths_forbelievers/
480762
Excellent question!  Especially since my father is a used car salesman.  haha.\n\nAnyways, I know that certain people will not celebrate things like Christmas and Easter because they are not in the Bible, and the reason for this I believe is two-fold.  First of all, the Bible actually prescribes a very specific list of holidays that it requires.  These are the Jewish holidays, such as Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Shavuot, among some others.  Within this law it is stated that no one may add nor take away from the Law.\n\nTherefore, a strict interpretation might seem to indicate that these holidays, AND ONLY THESE HOLIDAYS should be celebrated, at least as RELIGIOUS holidays.\n\nHowever, Jews do celebrate some other holidays besides these because they are believed to be "within the spirit" of the Law.  For example, the Bible teaches that one should rejoice in the great things that God does in history.  So, Hanukkah celebrates a miracle that God performed for the Jewish people, and is considered to be acceptable to celebrate.  But it never is given the high status of the holidays which the Bible specifically describes.\n\nOn the part of Christians, I think it is noteworthy that Jesus seemed to accept the holiday of Hanukkah, even though it was post-Old Testament.  His disciples celebrated it, and Jesus told them to do so.  \n\nMost Christians however do not make this connection though I think, because they are not familiar with Jewish custom, and do not realize that Jesus was referring to Hanukkah when he mentions it.  (I'll get you a verse if you'd like, just ask and I can look it up).\n\nSo some Christians think that no holiday should be celebrated if it is not in the Law.  Christmas and Easter and Birthdays are not mentioned therein.\n\nOthers would say that birthdays are ok because they are not religious.\n\nOthers would say that Christmas and Easter are not permissible because they derive from non-Christian holidays that they believe embraced ideas contrary to their faith.\n\nThere are many things which have become custom and the people tend to assume it is biblical, when really, it is not necessarily.  Even the idea of getting married in a church or place of worship is not mentioned, and yet many would say firmly that a marriage done in a courthouse is not a marriage "in the eyes of God."\n\nI don't know why they would hold this view except that they must be ignorant of what is in their scriptures and what is not.
1132983
Passover (Hebrew: פסח; transliterated as Pesach or Pesah), also called חג המצות (Chag HaMatzot - Festival of Matzot) is a Jewish holiday which is celebrated in the spring. It begins on the 15th day of Nisan (on the Hebrew calendar), which falls between March 15-April 30. Passover commemorates the Exodus and freedom of the Israelites from ancient Egypt. As described in the Book of Exodus, Passover marks the "birth" of the Jewish nation, as the Jews' ancestors were freed from being slaves of Pharaoh and allowed to become servants of God instead.\n\nTogether with Sukkot ("Tabernacles") and Shavuot ("Pentecost"), Passover is one of the three pilgrim festivals (Shalosh Regalim) during which the entire Jewish populace made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, at the time when the Temple in Jerusalem was standing.\n\nIn modern Israel, Passover is a 7-day holiday, with the first and last days celebrated as a full festival (involving abstention from work, special prayer services and holiday meals). In the Jewish diaspora outside Israel, the holiday is traditionally celebrated for 8 days, with the first two days and last two days celebrated as full festivals. The intervening days are known as Chol HaMoed (festival weekdays).\n\nThe primary symbol of Passover is the matzo, a flat, unleavened "bread" which recalls the hurriedly-baked bread that the Israelites ate after their hasty departure from Egypt. According to Halakha, matzo may be made from flour derived from five types of grain: five grains: wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt. The dough for matzo is made when flour is added to water only, which has not been allowed to rise for more than 18–22 minutes prior to baking.\n\nMany Jews observe the positive Torah commandment of eating matzo on the first night of Passover at the Passover Seder, as well as the Torah prohibition against eating or owning Chametz which includes any leavened products — such as bread, cake, cookies, beer, whisky or pasta (or anything whose dough has been mixed with a leavening agent or which has been left to rise more than 18 minutes) — for the duration of the holiday.
911659
Hanukkah is the annual Jewish festival celebrated on eight successive days beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, the third month of the Jewish calendar, corresponding, approximately, to December in the Gregorian calendar. It is also known as the Festival of Lights, Feast of Dedication, and Feast of the Maccabees, Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem by Judas Maccabee in 165 BC after the Temple had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of Syria and overlord of Palestine.\n\nSee http://www.history.com/minisites/hanukkah/ for more
457889
nothing - the 7th day (to Christains it's Sunday/ to the Jews, it's Saturday, aka Sabbath); it is a day of resting.
824900
Yom Kippur is the most important day on the Jewish calendar  which follows the Jewish New Year which is 10 days prior. It is called in English 'The day of atonement' because on this day the Jewish people are judged in heaven and forgiven for all their sins. The fate of every person is decided on this day for the year too. Yom Kippur starts on the night before at sunset and ends 25 hours later. We fast throughout that 25 hour period and pray in Synagogue most of the day wearing white as we are likened to angels. Hope i answered your question!
172340
Rosh Hashannah is the jewish new year. It is celebrated during tishri, the month of "new beginnings". Tishri was originally the first month but was changed to the 7th month, something about the passover.\nThe world was created, Noah departed from the ark, and Christ was born during Tishri ( not Dec. 25, When He died in the spring He was 33 and a HALF, which would put His birth in the fall. )
4260
yes i do. my family says three blessings while lighting them on the first night. the other nights we only say two because the third is a "first time" blessing.  we always put the hanukia in our window because it is a way we show the world the miricle that happened. i dont know exactly what is tradition or culture but we also make potato latkees (baked in OIL). we do get and give presents but that has no real meaning to hannukah. that happens because of assimilation. we play dreidal also. if you have ever seen one the four letters on it stand for "neys gadol hayah sham" that translates to "a great miricle happened there". the game is just for fun but you play for gelt. if you spin a "nun" nothing happens. a "gimel" you get all the gelt that is in the middle. a "hey" means you get half and a "shin" means you put one piece of gelt in. the songs are always fun to sing with family and friends.\n\nif you want to know more just search or "hannukah" "chanukkah" "hanuka" or any other spelling you know. the only real way is to write it in hebrew
1121963
From Now To The End Of Time This Day June 25 Shall Be Known As " Thank A Jew Day" In the United States and Japan.\nSo Be Now By Proclamation of Yahoo Answers.
459701
so do you already know?  what's the point?\n\nmartes - mars god of war and a planet\nmiercoles god mercury\njueves - jove god also jupiter\nviernes, venus god and a planet\nsabado - sabbath since traditionally saturday was last day from jewish tradition.
715867
Dreidel\n \nThe dreidel (a four-sided spinning top) is associated with Hanukkah. It has four sides, each engraved with a different Hebrew letter:\n\nנ (Nun) \nג (Gimel) \nה (Hey) \nש (Shin) \nThese letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, Nes Gadol Haya Sham—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the Beit Hamikdash).\n\nIn Israel, the fourth side instead shows the letter פ (Pe), rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, Nes Gadol Haya Po—"A great miracle happened here" (referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel).\n\nTraditional Jewish commentaries ascribe deep symbolism to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.[13]\n\nThe dreidel is the centerpiece of a game which is often played after the lighting of the Hanukkah menorah, to keep the children interested during the short time the candles are burning. Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins, nuts or other markers, and places one marker into the "pot". The first player spins the dreidel, which lands with one of its symbols facing up, indicating the appropriate action to be taken, corresponding to one of the following Yiddish words:\n\nNun - nisht - "not" - the next player spins \nGimel - gants - "all" - the player takes the entire pot \nHey - halb - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number \nShin - shtel ayn - "put in" - the player puts one or two markers in the pot \nAnother version differs in that nun is nem - "take", while gimel is gib - "give". The game may last until one person has won everything.\n\nThe dreidel game is played in part to commemorate a game that the Jews under Greek domination played to camouflage their Torah study. Though the Greeks made a law forbidding the study of Torah, the Jews would gather in caves to engage in learning. A lookout was posted to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers; if he spotted them, he would give a signal and the Jews would hide their scrolls and begin playing with spinning tops (dreidels) and coins. This ruse gave the impression that they were engaged in gambling, not learning.
707119
Sunday isn't exactly a holiday, it is just a day that we set aside for God.\n\nIt started in the New Testament, in Acts to be precise, when the disciples and early Christians met together on the first day of the week to pray and remember what the Lord did.\n\nIt also has a little to do with the fourth commandment (remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy). This commandment was given to Jews but we remember Sunday for the same reason as they remember the Sabbath...namely, to keep it holy. It is the day on which Jesus rose from the grave and, as that is the foundation of Christianity, it is important to us.\n\nI hope that helped.
901545
My best holiday is for me like asking which child I love the best.  It is the next one coming up.  I suppose though I would say christman /Hanukah time because it seems to me that people are a little nicer then.
838350
You're dealing with 3 very different observances. Kwanzaa has nothing to do with Hanukkah and neither has anything to do with Christmas. Hanukkah and Kwanzaa were moved to co-incide with the Christmas holidays because most of the people had time off. Regardless of whether they were Christians or not. The candles that are confusing you with Kwanzaa and Hanukkah are very different symbols. The Menorah, Hanukkah candles, represent a miracle of God. The Kwanzaa candles represent nature and light. And Christmas is the Birth of Christ. Three very different things that have little to do with each other. If it's the timing of the holidays that are causing trouble, then blame the Kwanzaa organizers and the Jewish and Christian churches. And don't blame the observances.
529
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is one of the most joyous times of the Jewish year. \n\nThe reason for the celebration is twofold (both dating back to c. 165 BCE): \n\nthe miraculous military victory of the small, ill-equipped Jewish army over the ruling Greek Syrians, who had banned the Jewish religion and desecrated the Temple; \n\nand the miracle of the small cruse of consecrated oil, which burned for eight days in the Temple's menorah instead of just one. \n\n\nHanukkah is celebrated by: \n\na. lighting a menorah for eight nights with olive oil or wax candles; one on the first night and an additional one each succeeding night \n\nb. eating food fried in oil, especially potato pancakes (latkes) and jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot) \n\nc. playing with a dreidel, a four-sided top; the player wins or loses money depending on which side it lands on (each is marked with a different Hebrew letter)\n\nIn 1997, a 60-foot, 18-ton menorah was built in Latrun, Israel; a rabbi was lifted by crane each night to kindle the lights. The same year, a 12-foot pyramid of 2,400 jelly doughnuts was built near Afula, Israel; the pastries were later distributed to soldiers serving near the northern border. \n\nHanukkah began this year (2005) on the evening of December 25.\n\nSee poster:\nhttp://www.allposters.com/-sp/Menorah-w-toys-candy-and-gifts-in-background-Posters_i1459268_.htm
1063381
A resounding yes (to the previous post).  Passover is also relevant as it is symbolic of the way in which the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, shed for us, means we are forgiven of sin, and "passed over" by God's wrath and the death which all of our sins naturally earn for us.