Like Diwali, Jews Celebrate 'Hanukkah'

                     "Hanukkah is Jewish Festival of Lights, as Diwali for Indians" 

Lighting up houses with bright candles, chanting songs of victory and peace, distributing sweets and gifts and wishing each other well-being and prosperity, this is how Hannukah is celebrated, also known as the Festival of Lights. Surprisingly, this festival significantly resembles the iconic Hindu Diwali.

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Candles and Diyas symbolic of Festival of Light | © abhinabahtt and chosenpeople.com

Diwali Festival

Diwali is another festival of lights observed for five days in India by Hindus. There are many similarities between the two. The Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah, is celebrated for eight consecutive nights sometime between late November and late December – determined by the Hebrew calendar – in Israel and by Jewish people all over the world. Hanukkah could be called the ‘Jewish Diwali,’ celebrated to commemorate the victory of good over evil since ancient times.

Diwali Celebration | © Pradip Mahato/Flickr

In India, the festival of lights, Diwali, usually falls in October and November – determined by the Hindu calendar – and is celebrated by the lighting of Diyas(lamps/candles) in and around the house and windows, wearing new clothes, preparing special dishes and sweets, opening festive crackers, and giving or receiving surprise gifts from relatives and friends.

In the same way, Hanukkah is celebrated with lightning of candles on the menorah(a candelabrum with nine branches) followed by the chanting of songs and the distribution of presents.

Hanukkah Lights | © Djampa/Wiki Commons 

Both festivals owe ancient importance, in their respective religion, to instances of war and victory, of good over evil. As per Hindu mythology, Diwali is celebrated in the name of Lord Rama (Hindu God) of Ayodhya, after his victory over the evil Ravana, when the people of Ayodhya lit lamps to celebrate his return and illuminated the whole city.

Diwali is observed for five days substituted by other small festivals including Dhanteras, Chhoti Diwali (Small Diwali), Diwali, Gowardhan Pooja and Bhai Duj.

Hannukah Traditions

The story of Hannukah is the remembrance of the Jewish victory of over the Syrian-Greek Army and reclaiming of the Jewish Holy Temple in Jerusalem over 2,100 years ago. You can visit the sites from the story still today.

Hanukkah Celebration © Rebecca Israel/WikiCommons

The story is that the army struck the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, leaving them with only enough oil to light one day, but that it stayed lit for eight consecutive days and nights, once they had won the war. This is why the Jewish people light the menorah using a single candle (the shamash), and commemorate Hanukkah to the mark the miracle that the oil lasted, by lighting candles from right to left each day from one to eight. They also eat deep-fried traditional dishes to symbolize this.

Diwali and Hanukkah, celebrated throughout the world, are the reflection of victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair.

‘Country of Conflicts’

      24 hours, 365 days, struggle continues between life and death, for the existence, bombs and rockets are every second on the target, here the difference of life and death is merely 15 seconds, they have to escape, and they have to be alive so that they can save their Country. Here the 15 seconds stands for siren warning against air attacks alerting people to hide under bunkers to save their lives.

Every day, there is a new fight for their survival, the word like war, terror, bomb, rocket and missile has now been inherited in the soul of citizens.It’s the story of the Country, which has been in conflicts since its inception in 15^th May 1948, which has been fighting for its very existence on Map, where war in is the nerves of its citizens, The State of ‘Israel’- The land of Three Faiths-The Bone of Contention.

In last 70 years the Jewish country has been in direct fight with all its Arab neighbors, who consider Israel as their motherland.

In Israel the young generation prior becoming engineer, doctor, scientist, think of Nation, think of Army the foremost to all. Youths, Students, regardless of their gender and status, go to School and College or Work, only after ensuring safeguard of their nation. What will be use of Education when there will be no Nation to live, this what they have in their souls.

Army is their religion, Army is their culture, and Army is their deed. This is the country where from Prime Minister to Peasant, Richest to Poorest, Laborer to Leader and Capitalist to Communist, everyone is first supposed to serve Nation.

Israel has different connotation of terrorism and its supporters, and has very strong urge to save its citizens.

Israeli cities appears much more like cantonments where each and every corner is captivated with bomb proof bunkers whether it is home, office, ground, university, market, shopping mall, to save precious lives of its citizens, as no one knows when a rockets is going to destroy Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. Palestine and Gaza is round the clock preparing to launch missiles, rocket here.

The State of Israel, on June 5, 1967, was going to be disappeared from Earth, after being invaded by Egypt, Syria and Jordan armies via three sides. It was the situation of Do or Die for Israel who did not leave any stone unturned for the sake of their land, losing more than 1 percent of its citizens in famous Six-day War.

It must be charisma that Israeli Air Force got lead against trio-army, defeating and scooting them from their own land with Israel capturing Gaza Strip, West Bank and Sinai Peninsula up to Suez Canal in Egypt, more than three times of its size.

It is certainly a matter of amaze that how Israelis are accustomed to such kind of life.

Even after being in fight with neighboring countries from 70 years, spending a big chunk of GDP for continuous renovation of military, how it stood up as most advanced country, certainly tells its story of struggle. The Tel Aviv city is among the most modern, beautiful, smart and safe cities in the world.