Hanukkah: It Isn't 'Christmas' for Jews

While Hanukkah changes dates each year according to the Hebrew calendar, the Jewish festival of lights usually falls in close proximity to Christmas.

That means the two are often lumped together under the ubiquitous "Happy Holidays" banner.

This year, in fact, Hanukkah's fifth night is Christmas Eve.

Rabbi/Cantor Rhoda Silverman of  in Reisterstown said Hanukkah, which is not one of the holiest Jewish days, should be seen as separate from the Christian commemoration.

“We don’t have to merge them and melt them down together into one American festival in order to respect each other,” she said. “We can respect each other’s holidays and keep their integrity.”

Because of Hanukkah's proximity to Christmas, it has fallen victim to commercialization as well.

Silverman says she tries to convey to her two young children Hanukkah's true meaning, though gifts are also part of the Hanukkah tradition.

“[We] make sure that there are other rituals besides gift giving—lighting the hanukkiyah every night, singing songs, discussing the holiday and its meaning,” she said.

The hanukkiyah, a nine-branched candelabrum also known as the Hanukkah menorah, commemorates the miracle of the oil.

When the Temple in Jerusalem was re-dedicated in 165 BCE, after the Jews had gotten control of their land and temple back from the Seleucid Empire of Syria, they had only enough oil to light their seven-branched menorah for one day, but it miraculously lasted eight days. Thus, Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday, which falls from sundown on Dec. 20 to sunset on Dec. 28 this year.

Larry Singer, owner of the  in Reisterstown, sees the association of Hanukkah and Christmas not necessarily as a bad thing.

“It makes the Jews and Christians feel somewhat compatible together, even though they’re celebrating two different events,” he said. “The end result is that they’re celebrating life.”

Like Singer, , also in Reisterstown, doesn’t worry too much about the commercialization of Hanukkah. “I don’t particularly love some of the particulars of this day and age but I don’t let it get in the way of what I believe is the essential and inspirational stuff.”

Greenspoon said his family isn't big on gift giving. He asks his older children to pick a charity to donate money to. They make sure to light candles together, get together with friends and eat holiday foods.

“If, by the last night, we can each have a Hanukkah menorah on the table, that’s a really special moment together,” he said.

Traditional holiday foods are typically those with oil such as donuts and, arguably the signature Hanukkah dish, potato latkes, which are essentially potato pancakes. Hanukkiyahs are lit each night, with prayers said over the candles, and the game of dreidel is played. Dreidel, played with a four-sided spinning top of the same name, is a game of chance played with Hanukkah gelt, chocolate coins, pennies or other tokens.

Both Temple Emanuel and Adat Chaim will keep the religious heritage of the holiday at the forefront. In addition to adding Hannukah prayers to Shabbat services, both synagogues have study sessions with congregants to discuss the meaning and story of the holiday, not to exchange gifts.

Hanukkah celebrations in Howard County:

• Hanukkah Potluck at Oakland Mills Interfaith Center in Columbia; 6 p.m. on Dec. 23
• Grand Menorah Lighting at Century Plaza (10630 Little Patuxent Parkway) in Columbia; 4 p.m. on Dec. 25
• Hanukkah Party at  (770 Howes Lane) in Columbia; 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 25
• Menorah Lighting at Pita and Rye (8180 Maple Lawn Boulevard) in Fulton; 5 p.m. on Dec. 26
• Menorah Lighting at  in Ellicott City; 4 p.m. on Dec. 27