You have probably heard of Judah and the Maccabees, but what about Judith? At one time, the story of Judith—a young widow who killed the Assyrian general and led the Israelites to victory—was considered an important part of the Hanukkah narrative.
On Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013, at the same time that Americans gorge themselves on turkey and weirdly textured cranberry desserts, American Jews will have another holiday to tend to also.
This booklet explains the history of Hanukkah, the symbolism and significance of lighting candles for eight nights, the blessings that accompany the lighting of the candles, the holiday’s foods, the game of dreidel and more.
In honor of the eight nights of Hanukkah and the once-in-a-lifetime night of Thanksgivukkah, we’ve compiled a list of seven other rarities that accompany our favorite holiday hybrid on the list of true never-gonna-happen-again occurrences.
There’s nothing wrong with cherishing our childhood myths while at the same time assimilating a more historical understanding of the holidays that serve as the framework for our Jewish observance.
A special, once-in-a-lifetime holiday like Thanksgivukkah calls for a once-in-a-lifetime menorah.
Jonathan Mizrahi is nuclear-physicist smart, so it may not be a surprise that he was the one who figured out that this year’s magical confluence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah is a very unique occurrence.
Dana Gitell is the one who dubbed the Hanukkah/Thanksgiving holiday overlap “Thanksgivukkah” and created great merchandise to celebrate it.
Writer Anita Diamant likes Hanukkah.
Curious to learn more about where this holiday comes from? Check out these links.