Friday, December 10, 2004

New Testament Chanukah

John 10:22-23 (New American Standard) At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.

The Feast of Dedication was Chanukah. So Chanukah is mentioned in the New Testament. I mention this because sometimes the anti-Christmas attitude tht sometimes seems to permeate our public space has cuased some peopel to resent any holiday that seems to be a competitor to Christmas.

The point is that Chanukah is a traditional holiday with a meaningful history behind it, and it predates the celebration of Christmas, so its celebration should not be thought of as simply an attempt to create an "alternate Christmas" or as an interloper.

Whether or not one sees the creation of artificial alternatives such as Kwanzaa as legitimate (of course, at one point Christmas was an artificial alternative to Saturnalia), the point is that Chanukah is an established holiday with a long tradition and should be analyzed as such.

That is all.

No comments: