The Mensch Who Killed Christmas

What if Dr. Suess had written the truth about Christmas?

It might have went something like this:

There once was a Mensch
who lived just over the hill
from a town surrounded by a trench
that was named Saints Ville.

The Mensch would go there every Spring
just to hear their children sing.
The Mensch would visit each summer
arriving in his white and blue Hummer.
The Mensch would sell his wares
every Autumn in their fairs.

But as a boy in a sleigh one Winter
he became most ill by a tiny splinter.
So when it began to snow
The Mensch dared not go.

So every winter he spent all alone
busily crafting each ware
that he would sell over the phone
and with the needy his profits share.

Then one fateful year
The Mensch did hear
news most distressing
that was quite depressing.

In from the cold
he had taken in a stranger
who shined like gold
And warned of danger.

The people of Saints Ville
who lived just over the hill,
the angel went on to say,
had all been deceived
in a such a terrible way
that The Mensch hardly conceived
every sobering word
from that angel he heard.

So The Mensch faced his fears,
got in his hummer and started to drive
fighting back the tears,
knowing that his friends might not survive.

When The Mensch went over the hill
he saw something in Saints Ville
that gave him a terrible fright
as he peered through the night.

There was a tree of wondrous height
that was decorated with golden balls
and gave off a shimmering light
in the midst of the shopping malls.

As The Mensch headed towards town
his face made a terrible frown.
The sound of music he could hear
but it seemed wrong to his ear.

When The Mensch arrived
he could hardly believe his eyes.
There was a celebration derived
from pagan customs and numerous lies.

The children were only concerned
about the presents they demanded to get
while their parents were spurned
but went further and further into debt.

He wondered at what did next appear.
There was a man dressed in red
with eight tiny reindeer
in the air pulling a big sled.

The biggest surprise was when
he saw something even stranger
there were three wise men
kneeling down at a manger.

He could see this deception
from the False Church of Rome
had a warm reception
in almost every Saint's home.

Then in a moment of hope
The Mensch spied a glass box
that held The Book
in the midst of Founder's Square.

With his next move the Saints could not cope
but it made them jump out of their socks
as they dared to look
on a sight that made them stare.

Below the box was a sign that read,
"Break in case of emergency"
Everyone shimmered and stammered
in uncertain dread,
as with a sense of urgency
The Mensch used the little hanging hammer.

Of course, there is no need to mention
that now The Mensch had everyone's attention.

He could not stand another look.
So he stood on the stage and let out a shout.
Then The Mensch held up The Book
to remove every doubt.

Suddenly all of the music stopped
and nobody bopped.
With every eye on him
The Mensch looked grim.

All the Saints in Saints Ville
could see his alarm.
The Mensch had come over the hill
to save them from harm!

The Mensch knew the truth
that had to be spoken.
He spoke to the old and the youth
as the silence was broken.

He lifted up The Book before their eyes
and said that it would make them wise.
The truth about everything is in The Book
for those who dared to take a look.

He reminded them that in these pages
is all the wisdom of the ages.
"What does it say
about this holiday?

This story of a man most jolly
riding in a sleigh that flies
is surely untruthful folly
from the Father of Lies.

Year after year you go into debt
and train your children to be greedy,
leaving you wishing for something yet
to take care of those who are needy.

Now try to remember
that it snows in December.
So this night, there can be no doubt,
is one when shepherds would not be out.

The magi came to the Youth
at the house in reverent fear
when the Man of Truth
was a child of more than a year!

About this tree that is so adored
are these instructions from the Lord?
I intend to use this ax
unless anyone can dispute these facts."

The Saints all stood in wonder and shame
how could they have fallen for such a game?
Still some looked with all of their might
they searched The Book all through the night.

No where in The Book could it be found
so with a whack and a thud
the tree was felled to the ground
and then landed in mud.

Then to protect them from danger
down came the manger
where wise men did not appear.
Shepherds had not watched their flock
each night at the wrong time of year
The Saints had learned with a shock.

Next the tree was set ablaze
and Santa was cast into the fire.
Then The Mensch did something to amaze.
He called Christmas "the work of a liar".

Then the Saints all cried
saying "even though we lied
we need a holiday to make us cheery
because Winter can be so dreary".

The Mensch said that he had not ruined their fun
by taking away a day they thought was great.
Instead of a false holiday that lasted for one
there was a true holiday that lasted for eight!

Then The Mensch opened The Book for all to see
how the Man of Truth celebrated the Feast of Dedication
and explained how they should do the same as he.
Then all the Saints pondered this in quiet meditation.

The Father of Truth had given them better holidays
than those that celebrate a natural phenomenon
like the Winter Solstice and the arrival of Spring.
The Book showed them how to walk in His ways.
"Keeping His Feasts", The Mensch went on and on
to explain, "was not just a Jewish thing."

The Saints of Saints Ville
came to see things that were real
and how Christmas had move them year after year
further and further from reverent fear.

So for the next eight days
they mended their ways
and dedicated themselves to the One
who had given them His son.

That self centered celebration came to stop
as they learned each night how to play with a top.
Every night they threw a party for the poor
and it was more fun than they ever had before!

They no longer taught their children to be greedy.
Instead they showed them how to take of the needy.
Spreading the Good News became their mission.
So they could carry out the Great Commission.

Their money was used to amend
those who had fell into neglect.
They gave up a life of pretend
and lived like they were the Elect!

"Hanukkah is a holiday
that surely won't bore us"
they said each and every day
as they lit their Menorahs.

So they decided to walk in the Truth
from the eldest to the youth.
The Feasts of Truth they would now celebrate
instead of listening to those who were celibate.

They had neglected doing His will
when the Saints had been distracted
until The Mensch came to Saints Ville
and all of these lies were retracted.

Pagan holidays they will no longer be keeping,
but said, as they with joy were weeping,
"The Father of Truth will not dismiss us
thanks to The Mensch who killed Christmas!".

Now this may have caught you off guard and even given you a shock or two.  You may be wondering about some things and have some questions.

For example, what is a Mensch? 

A Mensch is a person of good and noble character.  It is the opposite of an Unmensch.

Wasn't the Man of Truth  (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) born on December 25th?

No, he was not even born until about another three months later.  In fact the Book of Truth (the Bible) gives enough information to determine when was Jesus born down to the day within a two day margin.

Didn't Joseph (Yoseph) and Mary (Mariam) flee to Egypt with the baby Jesus (Yeshua) within a few days of his birth?

No.  Eight days after the Man of Truth was born they circumcised him (Luke 2:21).  Then when he was six weeks old they took him with them when his mother went to the Temple to be purified according to the commandment of the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) (Luke 2:22-24).  This when Simeon and Anna blessed the Man of Truth (Luke 2:25-38).  Then they returned to Nazareth to live there (Luke 2:39).

Weren't the wise men at the manger?

No.  They came to the house that the Man of Truth lived in when he was a toddler (Matthew 2:11). [The Greek word "paidion" translated as "young child" means a child that is older than an infant and is generally used of a child that can stand on its own and has started to walk.]

When did the wise men visit the Man of Truth?

The wise men saw the star appear when the Man of Truth was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-2).  Herod then asked them when did the star appear (Matthew 2:7).  Herod then had all of the children that were two years of age and younger were killed based on when the star had first appeared to the wise men (Matthew 2:16).

So the wise men went to visit the Man of Truth when he was about two years old.

Where did the wise men visit the Man of Truth?

When they arrived in Jerusalem then Herod directed them to Bethlehem (Matthew 2:3-8).  They then went to the house, which may not have even been in Bethlehem, where the Man of Truth was by following the star instead of the directions of Herod (Matthew 2:9-11).  Then they left to go back to the East while Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with the Man of Truth (Matthew 2:12-15).  Herod then had all of the children that were two years and younger killed in the area from Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem to Ramah, north of Jerusalem based on where he was told that the Man of Truth was born (Matthew 2:16-18).   Joseph then intended to move the family to Judea after Herod died but was instructed to go to Nazareth instead (Matthew 2:19-23).  Nazareth is where Joseph had returned to previously when the Man of Truth was six weeks old (Luke 2:39).

So it is not certain where they went to pay homage to the Man of Truth.  They may have went to a house in Nazareth where the Man of Truth went to when he was six weeks old. (Nazareth was also in the jurisdiction of Herod so they would still be in danger and would still need to flee to Egypt until Herod was dead.  However, Herod split his kingdom in his will and it was out of the jurisdiction of his son Archelaus.)  Since Joseph sought to go to Judea after Herod died it could be that he had moved to Judea at some point after returning to Nazareth when the Man of Truth was six weeks old.  Even so, there is no indication of where in Judea he sought to live.  It might have been Bethlehem since he would have to be there every ten years for the census but it could have been somewhere else in Judea.

So it is not certain where the wise men went to visit the Man of Truth.  What is certain is that the wise men did not kneel at the manger in Bethlehem in worship of the Man of Truth when he was an infant.  They did this at a house, either in Nazareth or an unnamed city of Judea, or Bethlehem, when the Man of Truth was about two years old.

Is there anything like a Christmas tree in the Book of Truth?

Sort of but not exactly.

The closest thing is the description of idol worshipers cutting down a tree, decorating it with silver and gold, and placing it on a stand (Jeremiah 10:3-4).   While this sounds a lot like a Christmas tree, if you read the rest of the passage it is clear that this is actually an idol that they carve into some sort of statue (image), like perhaps something that looks like a man, and then clothed with expensive cloth colored purple and blue (Jeremiah 10:5-9).  It is obvious that these idols are being worshiped even though they have no power to deliver anyone from trouble (Jeremiah 10:10-15).

So while there are many similarities in creating these idols to decorating a Christmas tree, there is one important difference.  The makers of these idols are doing so for the expressed purpose of worshiping them while practically no one puts up a Christmas tree to worship it.  I have never met one single person who has looked to a Christmas tree to deliver them from trouble like these idol worshipers did with the idol they carved from a tree.

Do Christmas trees have any other connection to idol worship?

Yes.  Christmas trees came from the customs of pre-Christian Germany.  Originally they decorated an oak tree that they worshiped until Saint Boniface cut it down and replaced it with an evergreen tree in the 6th century AD that was supposed to remind them of the Trinity and heaven by its shape.  The Germans then began cutting down evergreen trees and decorating them in their homes after that.

The Germans were hardly alone in tree worship and many other countries had similar practices that also changed into placing something similar to a Christmas tree in their homes.  Over the years, the placing of Christmas trees in homes became a tradition that continued on long after most people had ceased to worship trees.

The tree worshiping roots of Christmas trees are exactly the same as those who worshiped trees in Canaan and other places.  It was under green trees that idols were worshiped (Deuteronomy 12:2).  It was in the groves of trees where idol worship was carried out (1 Kings 15:13).  It was green trees that were used for the poles which were decorated to look like the fertility goddess (Asherah) (2 Kings 17:10).  It was under green trees that sexual sin was committed in worshiping the fertility goddess (Jeremiah 3:6).

So while Christmas trees are not idols (unless you actually worship it) the custom of cutting down a tree, decorating it and placing it on a stand definitely has its roots in idolatry.

What does it matter if pagan customs are incorporated in honoring the Man of Truth for his birthday?

The Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) does not want His Children worshiping Him by doing the same things that the pagans do to worship their idols that He ordered destroyed (Deuteronomy 12:2-4).  For this reason there are not even to be trees anywhere near where the Children of Truth worship Him nor anything even resembling an idol (Deuteronomy 16:21-22).  The Children of Truth are to worship in spirit and truth through customs He gave to the Jews instead of Pagan customs (John 4:22-24).  Pagan customs come from customs used for worshiping Spirits of Lies (devils aka demons aka unclean spirits aka gods) and the Father of Truth does not want the Children of Truth to have anything to do with Spirits of Lies (1 Corinthians 10:20).  He wants His Children to abstain from anything that appears to have anything to do with evil things like idol worship (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

So for these reasons, Christmas trees and other pagan customs should not be used to honor the birthday of the Man of Truth, even on the actual day of his birth, much less on a day that came via the Romans from Babylonian sun god worship.

What is so bad about Santa Claus?

Foremost, people are perpetrating a fraud on their own children, often with the help of the religious professionals in the place where they congregate.  In other words, they are lying to their children instead of telling them the truth.  In fact, everything about Santa Claus is a lie.

Not only that, many things about Santa Claus, like the hat he wears, come from pagan customs rooted in Babylonian sun god worship. This another bad thing about Santa Claus.  Allowing this fraud, who is dressed like a pagan priest, into the lives of children because it is fun is the Satan Clause.

The Children of Truth are supposed to teach their children the Word of Truth (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).  If they train their children in the Word of Truth then they will not depart from the Way of Truth when they grow up (Proverbs 22:6).

All lies are from the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil) (John 8:44).  There was nothing that belonged to him in the life of the Man of Truth (John 14:30).  The Children of Truth should not make room for anything that is from him in their lives either (Ephesians 4:27).  Their Father wants them to walk in truth at all times (2 John 1:4).

The Children of Truth should strive to always be walking in truth so they should have absolute nothing to do with Santa Claus.

Does the Book of Truth really say that the Man of Truth celebrated Hanukkah?

Yes, even though it was called the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah means dedication) he celebrated it during the Winter at the Temple in Jerusalem (John 10:21-22).

What is Hanukkah?

Hanukkah is the Feast of Dedication to celebrate the dedicating the Temple after it was restored by the Maccabees who did exploits as had been revealed about 300 years earlier to Daniel the Prophet of Truth (Daniel 11:31-33).  It is also called the Festival of Lights.

Why should Gentile Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) celebrate a Jewish holiday?

It's not just a Jewish thing to celebrate Hanukkah.  Hanukkah has many applications for all of the Children of Truth.   For example, it is about the Children of Truth dedicating the Temple that is their body.  Everything that the Father of Truth gave to Israel is meant for His Gentile Children of Truth who have became part of the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:11-13).

Is it enough to avoid pagan customs associated with Christmas and instead practice Biblical customs associated with Biblical holidays like Hanukkah?

NO!

The commandment to love other people is next in importance to the commandment to love the Father of Truth (Mark 12:30-31).  The Children of Truth are to always remember the poor who live in the House of Truth (Galatians 2:10).  The Children of Truth are to do good to everyone but especially those who are in need in the House of Truth (Galatians 6:10).  Not doing what we can to provide for the needs of each other makes us worse than being a pagan (1 Timothy 5:8).  It is not enough to avoid pagan customs unless you also take care of the poor (James 1:27).

In like manner, keeping the right holidays in the right way is worthless if it distracts the Children of Truth from doing their part to carry out the Great Commission.  The Children of Truth must make disciples for the Man of Truth of all kinds of people (Matthew 28:19-20).  The Children of Truth must tell everyone the Good News about the Man of Truth so they can be saved (Mark 16:15-16).  Anyone that does not do all they can to save those who do not know the Man of Truth are guilty of the worst kind of hatred.  They simply do not love the Father of Truth (1 John 4:20-21).

The Children of Truth do not use keeping the lessor matters of the Law as an excuse to neglect the weightier matters of the Law.  If you observe the weekly Sabbath and all of the holidays found in the Book of Truth but do not take care of other people then whose Sabbath are you keeping?

Does it really matter if I observe Christmas or Hanukkah or nothing at all?

It does matter at all unless you come into the House of Truth.  No one is saved by observing or not observing holidays or even by keeping the Law of Truth (Romans 3:27-28).  You must first come into the House of Truth by surrendering control of your life to the Man of Truth because you believe his Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:8-10).  Only after you come into the House of Truth will you be able to grow to the point that you can eat meat (Hebrews 5:12-13).   It is only after you come into the House of Truth and have learned the foundational truths that things like killing Christmas will really begin to matter (Hebrews 6:1-2).

Come into the House of Truth.

Dedicating the Temple

What does dedicating the temple really mean?

Chanukah (Hanukkah) is a festival celebrated by Jews world wide and especially in the United States of America. Chanukah has also came to be celebrated by many of the Children of Truth (followers of the Man of Truth) in the United States and other countries as well.  Why would the Children of Truth celebrate a Jewish holiday?  What does Chanukah have to do with following the Man of Truth ?

Chanukah means "dedication". In particular it is celebrating the Maccabees dedicating the Temple after driving out the Syrian king of Greek descent who had desecrated it.

This was the third time that the Temple had been dedicated.  The First Temple was dedicated by King Solomon (2 Chronicles 6:1-3). The First Temple was destroyed because of the disobedience of the Jews and then the Second Temple was commanded to be built when they returned to obedience (Ezra 5:11-13).  The Second Temple was then built in troublesome times as the Prophet of Truth had foretold (Daniel 9:25).  The Second Temple was then dedicated a second time by the people of Israel (Ezra 6:15-17).  Then the Syrian king of Greek descent desecrated the Second Temple after he was pushed out of Egypt as the Prophet of Truth had foretold (Daniel 11:29-31).  That is when the Maccabees rose up and drove out the Syrian king of Greek descent at great personal cost because of their dedication to the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) (Daniel 11:32-35).  After eight days of cleaning, the Second Temple was dedicated a second time.  This second dedication of the Second Temple is commemorated by the Feast of Dedication (Chanukah) that the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) celebrated at the Second Temple (John 10:22-23).

This Second Temple had been greatly expanded after the Maccabees by Herod the Great to show his dedication to the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) until it had become the largest religious structure in history.  It grew to the point of being able to hold 300,000 people at a time.  The only other structure of any kind in history that could hold as many people was the Circus Maximus in Rome.  It was twenty times the size of the Temple of Diana in Ephesus that Herodotus had listed as the greatest of the seven wonders of the ancient world while the First Temple was still in ruins (Acts 19:26-28).

People had given so much gold for use in the Second Temple to show their dedication to the Law of Truth that it was likely the largest single accumulation of gold in one place in all of history (Matthew 23:16).  It had many beautiful buildings inside of it (Matthew 24:1).  All of these massive and majestic buildings caused it to be considered to be the most beautiful building in the world (Mark 13:1-2).  These buildings were decorated with costly stones and gifts that people had given to show their dedication to the Father of Truth (Luke 21:5).  The rulers and people of Israel had been expanding and decorating the Second Temple for 46 years to show their dedication to the Law of Truth when the Man of Truth celebrated the Feast of Dedication (Chanukah) there (John 2:20).

The people of Israel were so dedicated to the Second Temple that it became even more magnificent than the First Temple that Solomon had built (Haggai 2:9).

However, dedicating the Temple in this manner was not pleasing to the Father of Truth.  He brought about destruction of the First Temple because the people of Israel had been dedicated to the First Temple but not to Him (2 Chronicles 7:19-22).  The Man of Truth said that His Father would also destroy the Second Temple (Matthew 24:1-2).  Not only the Second Temple, but the entire city of Jerusalem, was destroyed because the people of Israel had been dedicated to the Temple but not to the Son that the Father of Truth had sent (Luke 19:41-44).

Their dedication to the Second Temple was useless because they were not dedicated to the Son that was greater than the Temple (Matthew 12:6-8).  In like manner, many that call themselves the Children of Truth are dedicated to their church or synagogue but they are not dedicated to the Father of Truth that they gather to worship in their building!

While buildings to congregate in are necessary and the Father of Truth honors the dedication of buildings to be used for His purposes this by itself is not the kind of dedicating the temple that pleases Him.

No building can contain the Father of Truth for the universe cannot contain Him (1 Kings 8:27).  How could He dwell on the Earth? (2 Chronicles 6:18).

His Son was with Him when He created everything and was like the Father of Truth in every way (John 1:1-3). His Son, the Man of Truth, dwelt among men (John 1:14).  It was the same as if His Father was personally dwelling among men on the Earth (John 14:8-10).

The Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) dwelt between the Cherubim on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant that was in the Holy of Holies in the First and Second Temple (Isaiah 37:16).  That same Spirit dwelt in the Man of Truth (Luke 4:1). The body of the Man of Truth was the temple that mattered more than the massive and beautiful buildings that had been dedicated to the Father of Truth (John 2:20-22).

The same Spirit of Truth dwells in the Children of Truth (Romans 8:11).  Since the Spirit of Truth dwells in the Children of Truth then each of their bodies is also a temple that matters more than their large and beautiful buildings that have been dedicated to the Father of Truth (1 Corinthians 3:16).  He will destroy those that defile this temple (1 Corinthians 3:17).

How can this temple be defiled?

It can be defiled by sexual sin (Romans 1:24).  Homosexuality is one way to defile this temple (Romans 1:26-27).  However, anyone engaging with sex with a partner of the opposite sex other than their spouse is also defiling the temple (1 Corinthians 6:15-17). 

This temple was made for the purposes of the Father of Truth and not for fornication (1 Corinthians 6:13).   The Children of Truth are dedicating the temple when they flee from fornication (sex outside of marriage) of any kind because fornication destroys the temple (1 Corinthians 6:18).  This is the kind of dedicating the temple that that He desires (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

When the Children of Truth give their bodies over to His purposes by living differently that those that do not know Him then they are dedicating their temple (Romans 12:1-2).  Their bodies are the temple of the Spirit of Truth and they should dedicate their temple to the will of the Father of Truth just like the Man of Truth did when he paid for their sins with his very life (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  The Children of Truth are dedicating the temple when they put to death all of the evil desires of their bodies (Galatians 5:24).

This dedicating the temple was so important that it was one of only four things that the Gentiles who believed were commanded to continue doing until they could learn more about the Law of Truth (Acts 15:19-21).   Dedicating the temple in this manner was one of the four necessary things that the Gentile believers had to continue doing in order to do well (Acts 15:28-30).  This dedicating the temple was the same for the Gentile believers as fulfilling an oath in the Second Temple was for the Jewish believers (Acts 21:24-26).

This is dedicating the temple is not not a one time ceremony like the dedication of the First Temple or the dedication of a new building to congregate in.  This is dedicating the temple, your body, as a living sacrifice by living according to the reasonable constraints placed upon it by the Father of Truth (Romans 12:1).  This sacrifice of dedicating the temple is done daily like those that the priests presented every morning and evening in the First Temple and Second Temple (1 Peter 2:4-5).

If we are not dedicating the temple by keeping our bodies from sin then we will be destroyed for defiling the temple - even if we have been used to bring the Good News to others (1 Corinthians 9:27)!  Anyone that is not so dedicating the temple will not have a place in His kingdom (Galatians 5:19-21).

If you are a Child of Truth then you may have realized for the first time that you have been defiling the temple and are wondering what you can do about it.  Like the Maccabees, you can put an end to the defilement of the temple by putting an end to your sexual sin like the woman who was caught in adultery (John 8:10-12).  Like the Maccabees, you can clean the temple by removing every filthy thought out of your mind and replacing them with thoughts that are fitting instead (Philippians 4:8).  Like the Maccabees, you can start dedicating the temple a second time because the Man of Truth is your advocate (1 John 2:1-3).

If you are not a Child of Truth then your body is not the temple of the Spirit of Truth.  It will only become the temple of the Spirit of Truth when you come into the House of Truth (Romans 8:9).  After you come into the House of Truth then the Spirit of Truth will give you the ability to start dedicating the temple (Galatians 5:21-23).  You first come into the House of Truth by calling the Man of Truth your boss in every area of your life because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

Come into the House of Truth.

Festival of Lights

 Why are millions of Christians celebrating Chanukah?

When I was growing up I never even heard of Chanukah.  (Properly pronounced K'HA-nu-Kah but usually pronounced HAN-nuk-Kah in America).  Today Chanukah is everywhere.  There are Chanukah stamps in the post office.  There are Chanukah specials on TV by major entertainment companies like Nickelodeon, Disney and PBS.  There have been Chanukah movies like "Eight Crazy Nights".  There is Chanukah wrapping paper in many stores along with Chanukah gift cards.  Many stores like "Bed, Bath and Beyond" have a Chanukah section where you can buy Chanukah paraphernalia needed to celebrate Chanukah.  There is also Chanukah decorations that can be placed on a Chanukah bush, Chanukah cookie cutters for making Chanukah sugar cookies and I even saw Chanukah stockings this year.

More than that, millions of Christians have taken to celebrating Chanukah, usually along with Christmas.  A few years ago, most of the evangelical Christian homes in Colorado Springs, Colorado had a Chanukiah (a Chanukah candelabra) in their window during Chanukah to show solidarity with their Jewish neighbors.

You may have noticed this sudden appearance of Chanukah and you may have a few questions, particularly concerning Christians celebrating a new holiday that seems to have sprang up suddenly out of nowhere.

When is Chanukah?

Chanukah starts on the 25th day of the month of Kislev on the Jewish calendar.  It lasts for eight days and usually begins some time after Thanksgiving in the US (fourth Thursday of November) and usually ends by New Year's Day in the US (January 1).  The start date of Chanukah on the Gregorian calendar each year moves around like Easter for pretty much the same reasons.

What is Chanukah?

Chanukah is not a new holiday that was made in America like Kwanza.  Chanukah has been celebrated for about 2,200 years by Jews.  However Chanukah is not a Jewish Christmas as people sometimes think.  The confusion partially arises because Chanukah often overlaps Christmas and is also celebrated on the 25th day of a month.  Chanukah is a Jewish holiday that has no direct relation to Christmas other than its timing.

How is Chanukah celebrated?

There are many different traditions for celebrating Chanukah in various places around the world just as there are many different traditions for celebrating Christmas in various places around the world.  However, there are some things that are pretty much universal.  A Chanukiah (Chanukah Menorah) is placed in the window and a progressive number of candles are lit each night, starting with one candle on the first night and ending with eight candles on the last night.  Foods cooked in oil are eating pretty much every meal for all eight days, including special holiday foods like latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts).  Games are played, but especially the Dreidel game where a driedel (a four sided top) is used to gamble for gelt (chocolate coins).  And of course, there are also Chanukah songs like Ma'oz Tzur and the Dreidel song.

However as Jews have always done in the Diaspora (scattering) they have been influenced by the surrounding culture as much they have influenced the surrounding culture.  In America, Chanukah has been competing with Christmas, just like how everything competes with everything else in America, and Jewish families did not want their children feeling left out when they heard their Gentile friends going on and on and on about how wonderful Christmas is.  So they starting giving presents on all eight days.  That is also why there are a whole slew of Christmas alternatives like Chanukah bushes decorated with Chanukah ornaments instead of Christmas trees decorated with Christmas ornaments, Chanukah cookies instead of Christmas cookies and Chanukah stockings to hang over the fire place.  No wonder people in America sometimes think that Chanukah is a Jewish Christmas.

What is Chanukah celebrating?

Chanukah is celebrating the dedication of the Temple after the Jews got it back from the Seleucid Greeks who ruled the eastern part of the Greek empire that stretched from Syria to northern India.   The short version of the story is this:

Antiochus Epiphanes wanted everyone in his empire to do everything the Greek way, including worshiping Greek idols.  While everyone but the Jews were already idol worshipers this was only a matter of renaming their current idols so for them it was no big deal.  However, the Jews would have nothing to do with worshiping idols of any kind.  So Antiochus Epiphanes removed the rightful high priest and placed corrupt men in the office of high priest in his place.  He then ordered these illegitimate high priests to end the daily sacrifice commanded in the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) and they complied.  Then he set up a giant image of himself in the Temple and commanded that everyone worship it.  When the believing Jews refused, he outlawed many of the practices that the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) had commanded in the Law of Truth including observing the Sabbath, reading the Original Covenant (Tanach aka Old Testament) and wearing Tzitzits (cords on the corner of their garments that contained a blue thread).  The believing Jews responded by staying faithful to the Father of Truth, but often in secret when they could, but still many died for refusing to work on the Sabbath.  They hid their reading of the Original Covenant by quickly hiding their scrolls and taking out dreidels to gamble for coins whenever the Greek soldiers checked up on them.  They made smaller garments with tzitzits that were like handkerchiefs and girdles that they wore hidden under their Greek clothes.  After a while, a believing priest named Matthias refused to worship the idol that the Greeks had set up in Modi'im where he lived.  An unbelieving Jew stepped forward to worship the idol and Matthias killed him.  Next Matthias, his five sons and the other believing Jews fought off the Greeks there then headed for the hills.  They were the Maccabees. They were joined by other believing Jews who also decided that resistance was essential and that they would not be assimilated.  They waged a war against the mightiest empire on Earth and pushed the Syrian Greeks out of their land but many of them died in so doing.  When the Temple was recaptured, they had to clean it up before they could use it.  In particular, they had to get rid of the altar and replace it with a new one because Antiochus Epiphanes had sacrificed three pigs and a dog on it to an idol.  The clean up took eight days and then once again the Menorah of the Temple was lit.  The people of Israel could now worship the Father of Truth in peace.

This story is found in the books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees along with some incidents that happened during this same period in other books of the Apocrypha (a collection of historical books (worth reading) and Jewish fables (avoid reading (Titus 1:14 )).  It is worth noting that there is no eight day miracle of the oil in these historical books as well as other ancient texts about the events like those found among the Dead Sea scrolls. The story that there was only enough oil for the Temple Menorah to last for one day but it lasted for eight does not appear until about five hundred years after the fact in the Talmud.   That is kind of like me writing a history of the voyage of Columbus and adding that there was a fourth ship that flew.  The "miracle of the oil" story was probably added to compete with the story of the miraculous birth of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ).  It is a shame, because it takes attention away from the great miracle of Father of Truth delivering His people against all odds and the dedication that His people had for Him.  The real point of the story that resistance is not futile and we do not have to be assimilated if we will be dedicated to the Father of Truth even to the point of dying if necessary.

Is Chanukah in the Book of Truth (The Bible)?

The entire story of the Chanukah that is in 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees was foretold in the book of Daniel (Daniel 11:21-34).  Antiochus Epiphanes was a vile person that became king through treachery when his brother Demetris was the rightful heir to the throne causing him to be held in contempt by the nobles of the Empire (Daniel 11:21).  He replaced the legitimate High Priest (the prince of the covenant), Onias with Jason and then deceitfully replaced Jason with Menelaus when he offered Antiochus more money than Jason (Daniel 11:22-23).  After returning from a successful military expedition in Egypt, he became angry against the covenant given by the Father of Truth because it was in direct opposition to his command for everyone to assimilate to the Greek way of life (Daniel 11:28).  After the Romans prevented him from completely taking over Egypt, he plotted with the unbelieving Jews that were for abandoning the covenant given by the Father of Truth, who helped him to take away the daily sacrifice and to pollute the Holy Temple with his idol to make it desolate of believing Jews that remained loyal to the Father of Truth (Daniel 11:30-32a).  The believing Jews rallied around the Maccabees who did exploits like those of David with the help of the Father of Truth to regain the Temple, Jerusalem and Israel (Daniel 11:32b-33a).  However it was only after many of them were martyred (Daniel 11:33b).  They did receive some help from a few believing Gentiles but many more Gentiles pretended to be their friends after they had won (Daniel 11:34).

What does Chanukah have to do with Christians?

Foremost, the Man of Truth validated Chanukah by celebrating Chanukah (John 10:22).  Those Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him), who were born the first time as Gentiles, became true Jews when they were born again (Romans 2:28-29).  When those Children of Truth, who were born the first time as Gentiles, were born again, they were grafted into the family tree of Israel (Romans 11:24-25).  When those Children of Truth, who were born the first time as Gentiles, they were aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, but when they were born again, they were brought into the commonwealth of Israel by the blood of the Man of Truth (Ephesians 2:11-13).   It is legitimate for the Children of Truth to celebrate Chanukah with the Man of Truth.

"Chanukah" literally means "Dedication".

It was during Chanukah that the Man of Truth said that the Children of Truth will follow only him because of their dedication to him (John 10:3-5).  It was during Chanukah that the Man of Truth declared that he would lay down his life because of his dedication to the Children of Truth (John 10:10-13). It was during Chanukah that the Man of Truth declared that he would lay down his life to save the Gentiles who would follow him as well as the Jews who would follow him because he was dedicated to ending the separation between the believing Jews and the believing Gentiles (John 10:14-16).  It was during Chanukah that the Man of Truth declared he would obey the commandment of the Father of Truth to die and come back to life because he was dedicated to the Father of Truth (John 10:17-18).

The Children of Truth must also show their dedication to the Man of Truth even to the point of laying down their lives (Matthew 10:22).  Many have so done by becoming martyrs for the Man of Truth just like so many died as martyrs for the Father of Truth in resisting Antiochus Epiphanes.  Stephen (Acts 7:58-60), James the brother of John (Acts 12:1-2), Shual (aka Paul) (2 Timothy 4:6-7), Cephas (aka Peter) (2 Peter 1:13-15) and Antipas (Revelation 2:13) were all dedicated to the Man of Truth to point of dying.  Every Child of Truth must be dedicated enough to suffer for the Man of Truth before they can reign with the Man of Truth (2 Timothy 2:12).  Every Child of Truth will suffer some type of persecution because of their dedication to the Man of Truth and the Father of Truth (2 Timothy 3:12).

The Children of Truth must not accept the premise of the world that resistance is futile and that they will be assimilated.

The Children of Truth must resist the pressures of the world to disobey the Father of Truth because they are dedicated to obeying the Father of Truth just like the Man of Truth, even to the point of having their blood shed (Hebrews 12:3-4).  The Children of Truth must resist the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil) by being dedicated to obeying the Father of Truth and he will flee just as the Maccabees resisted Antiochus Epiphanes and he fled. (James 4:7).

The Children of Truth will not be assimilated into this world because they do not belong to this world just as the Maccabees did not belong to the Greek world (John 15:18-20).  The Children of Truth must not submit to being assimilated into this world even at the cost of their lives just as the Maccabees refused to be assimilated into the Greek world even at the cost of their lives (Romans 12:1-2).  The Children of Truth do not love this world and the ways of this world due to their dedication to the Father of Truth just as the Maccabees did not love the Greek world and its ways due to their dedication to the Father of Truth (1 John 2:15-17).

Chanukah is also called the Festival of Lights. 

It was during Chanukah when the Man of Truth delivered the woman caught in adultery from the penalty of her sin and then declared that he was the Light of the world (John 8:10-12).  It was during Chanukah when the Man of Truth opened the eyes of the man born blind and then declared again that he was the Light of the world (John 9:4-6).  It was during Chanukah when the Man of Truth opened the eyes of the man born blind to bring light into his world (John 10:21-22).

On the Chanukiah there are eight candles that are lit one after another but there is an extra candle that is separate and lifted up higher than all the other candles called the shamash (servant).  The shamash is used to light the other candles.  The other candles only have light because the shamash gave them light but each one that is lit makes the world brighter.  The Man of Truth is like the shamash and the Children of Truth are like the other candles.

The Man of Truth came as a servant (Mark 10:45).  The Man of Truth came as a servant so the Children of Truth would know how to serve each other instead of lording it over each other (Luke 22:25-27).  The Children of Truth must serve one another (Galatians 5:13).

The Man of Truth calls the Children of Truth "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14).  The light that the Man of Truth gives causes the Children of Truth to give out light as well (Luke 16:8)  The Children of Truth have no light without him (John 1:9).  The Man of Truth causes the Children of Truth to no longer be without light (John 12:46).

The Light of Chanukah burns brightly in the House of Truth for it reminds the Children of Truth that they must be dedicated to not being assimilated into the world but to rather bring the light given by the Man of Truth to the world.  You come into the House of Truth when you dedicate your life to the Man of Truth because you believe that His Father called him out of the darkness of the grave (Romans 10:8-10).

Come into the House of Truth.