Hanukkah for Gentiles

As you may know, we generally like to feature a little religion here on Sundays. Since it's an actual religious holiday, tonight being the third night of Hanukkah, we thought we'd present a brief guide to celebrating Hanukkah. In case, like me, you're not Jewish. Any errors here are my own.

Hanukkah celebrates the victory of the Maccabees and the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. It seems to me to be a much more spiritual holiday than the Christian Christmas, because you have to stop whatever you're doing to say a prayer and light these candles for eight nights in a row. But it's easy to celebrate. All you need are a lot of candles and a menorah. And a menorah can be almost anything. You can buy one, of course, but you can also easily make one. All it needs to do is hold nine candles, with one of the candles (the shammash) being higher than the rest.

So here's a handy guide to Hanukkah from a book I got at the library last year.

CELEBRATING HANUKKAH
from The Hanukkah Book by Mae Shafter Rockand

The candles are placed in the hanukkiah (menorah) beginning at the right side and increasing daily toward the left. The most recently added candle is lit first, using a servant candle called the shammash. The shammash is used because the Hanukkah lights are holy and are not to be used for illumination or to kindle another flame. The candles should last for at least a half an hour.

The candles can be lit any time after sunset. First the shammash is lit, but before using it to kindle the other lights, the following blessings are recited:

Blessed are You, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah lights.

Blessed are You, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who performed miracles for our ancestors in days gone by at this season of the year.

Blessed are You, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us in life and enabled us to reach this day.

The last of these three prayers, the Shehecheyanu prayer, is said only on the first night.

After the candles are lit and the shammash replaced in the lamp it is customary to recite or chant the following:

We kindle these lights on account of the miracles, the deliverances, and the wonders You performed for our fathers, by means of Your holy priests. During all the eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and it is not permitted for us to make any use of them, but only to look at them, in order that we may give thanks unto Your Name for Your miracles, Your deliverances and Your wonders.

Happy Hanukkah!!!