Hannukah

We wanted to take a minute and wish everyone a Happy Hannukah.

While this holiday is not the most important holiday to the Jewish people, it does get a lot of publicity due to the timing and proximity to Christmas. Hannukah is about freedom, dedication and standing-up for what you believe. So for those who don’t know about this holiday, here’s my short version of the story:

A long long time ago, the Jewish temple was seized by Syrian-Greek soldiers. They turned the Jewish place of worship into a place to worship for the Greek god Zeus and made the observation of Judaism an offense punishable by death. The Jewish people were scared for their lives and being forced to worship something they did not believe.  But they were not complacent, and so the resistance began.

When Greek soldiers gathered the Jewish village people together and made them bow to an idol, one brave High Priest named Mattathias resisted. He drew his sword, killed the Greek soldier and he and his sons fought and killed the other soldiers present. Fearing for their lives after standing up for their beliefs, the family fled to hide in the mountains.  They were joined by other villagers wishing to fight back and this band of rebels became known as the Maccabees.

The Maccabees were small in number but armed with their beliefs and their will to fight back, they over powered the Greeks and took back their Temple. They wanted to purify and restore their Temple to the Jewish people by lighting the Menorah for 8 days. But, there wasn’t enough oil left! They lit the menorah anyway and the miracle of Hannukah is that the oil lasted for the 8 days it took to restore the Temple.

So today, many people celebrate the holiday by eating foods that are fried in oil, like Apple Cider Donut Holes. We celebrated this year by making Star of David Sugar cookies, and other sweet treats decorated in traditional blue and white.

As you walk your neighborhood, look for the lights of the Menorah in peoples windows and remember the Maccabees fight for their beliefs. To celebrate with your family and friends, place an order today!