Hanukkah's Alight with Ironies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It was a simple, if mischievous, way to open one of those holiday stories that religion reporters write year after year: "It's beginning to look a lot\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/1996\/11\/hanukkahs-alight-with-ironies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hanukkah's Alight with Ironies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It was a simple, if mischievous, way to open one of those holiday stories that religion reporters write year after year: "It's beginning to look a lot\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/1996\/11\/hanukkahs-alight-with-ironies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Terry Mattingly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"1996-11-27T13:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-01-30T18:03:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/1996\/11\/hanukkahs-alight-with-ironies\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/1996\/11\/hanukkahs-alight-with-ironies\/\",\"name\":\"Hanukkah's Alight with Ironies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"1996-11-27T13:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-01-30T18:03:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\"},\"description\":\"It was a simple, if mischievous, way to open one of those holiday stories that religion reporters write year after year: \\\"It's beginning to look a lot\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/1996\/11\/hanukkahs-alight-with-ironies\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/1996\/11\/hanukkahs-alight-with-ironies\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/1996\/11\/hanukkahs-alight-with-ironies\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hanukkah’s Alight with Ironies\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\",\"name\":\"Terry Mattingly\",\"description\":\"On Religion\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\",\"name\":\"tmatt\",\"description\":\"Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. 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{"id":941,"date":"1996-11-27T08:00:00","date_gmt":"1996-11-27T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tmatt\/1996\/11\/27\/hanukkahs-alight-with-ironies\/"},"modified":"2013-01-30T13:03:11","modified_gmt":"2013-01-30T18:03:11","slug":"hanukkahs-alight-with-ironies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/1996\/11\/hanukkahs-alight-with-ironies\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanukkah’s Alight with Ironies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

It was a simple, if mischievous, way to open one of those holiday stories that religion reporters write year after year: \u201cIt\u2019s beginning to look a lot like Hanukkah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The rest of my story focused on the history of Hanukkah and the modern trends that have turned this minor holiday into one of Judaism\u2019s most important dates.<\/p>\n\n

The telephone began ringing with a vengeance. Some devout Jews never made it past the first sentence and thought I was siding with those who promote Hanukkah as a \u201cJewish Christmas.\u201d Others thought the whole article attacked anyone who wanted to hitch a ride on the train that merchants and bureaucrats call \u201cThe Holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The first group of callers stressed the message and traditions of the eight-day \u201cFestival of Lights,\u201d which begins at sundown on Thursday (Dec. 5). The latter emphasized the reality of what it has become. Today, Hanukkah is alight with irony.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe link with Christmas has been made and there\u2019s not much that we can do about it,\u201d said Niv Bleich, president of the on-line Jewish Communications Network (www.jcn18.com<\/a>). \u201cIt\u2019s the old chicken and the egg situation and it doesn\u2019t really matter which came first. The big question now is, `What are we going to do?'\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The bottom line: How many Jews want to keep a distinctively Jewish spark alive in this season, as opposed to marching to the mall with everyone else?<\/p>\n\n

The holiday in question isn\u2019t even mentioned in Hebrew scriptures. Hanukkah is based on events in 165 B.C., when Jewish rebels, led by the Maccabees, defeated their Greek and Syrian oppressors. The rite of lighting menorah candles \u2014 one on the first day, increasing to eight \u2014 is based on a miracle linked with this victory. Tradition says that when it came time to purify the recaptured temple, only one container of ritually pure oil could be found for its eternal flame. This one-day supply is said to have burned for eight days.<\/p>\n\n

Thus, Hanukkah teaches that Jews must defend the purity of their faith, rather than heed the siren call of the dominant culture. This is a troubling message in the age of Hanukkah bushes and children pleading for taller and taller stacks of presents.<\/p>\n\n

The Jewish Communication Network offers some tongue-in-cheek \u201cHanukkah Carols\u201d that capture some of these paradoxes, complete with titles such as \u201cOn the First Day of Hanukkah\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m Dreaming of a Bright Menorah.\u201d The inevitable \u201cMaccabees are Coming to Town\u201d includes these lines: \u201cYou\u2019d best be a Jew, or suffer your fate. It does no good to assimilate. Maccabees are coming to town. They know if you\u2019re Assyrian. They know if you dig Greeks. They see you on the temple mount, consorting with Hellenistic freaks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

From there, it\u2019s only a few clicks to the on-line Jewish Mall (www.jewishmall.com<\/a>), which offers everything from traditional gifts to UFO dreidels and ceramic-baseball menorahs. The site opened on Nov. 13 and one of the first large orders was from South Korea, said Bleich.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t for the Jews in New York or Brooklyn. They have a store right around the corner,\u201d he said. \u201cBut lots of Jews don\u2019t live in places like that, anymore. They can\u2019t find what they need at their local mall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Nevertheless, there must be more to Hanukkah than different gift options, said Yosef Abramowitz, editor of Jewish Family & Life! (www.jewishfamily.com<\/a>). It\u2019s important that children go to the mall \u2014 to buy items for the poor. It\u2019s important for Jews to network with others who are striving to stay faithful. It\u2019s important that parents fight behind the scenes or co-opt modern fads to serve old causes. The times may demand Maccabean tactics.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBut let\u2019s be honest. These kinds of strategies will only appeal to a minority,\u201d he said. \u201cOnly a small percentage of Jews, and I imagine this is also true of Christians, are living lives that have much to do with the actual traditions and teachings of their faith. \u2026 That\u2019s especially obvious this time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"