Why Everyone Should Celebrate Hanukkah

when i was a kid, i figured Hanukkah was just a Jewish Christmas, if i thought about it at all. And until just recently, i had just a basic understanding of it. But i finally read the details and discovered that the holiday commemorates the Maccabean revolt that led to the rescue and rededication of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The temple had been overrun and desecrated by Antiochus IV, an early recorded instance of religious persecution. Antiochus forbade the Jews from practicing their religion.

So the Maccabean victory, and Hanukkah as an outgrowth, is a case of the triumph of religious freedom against an oppressive state. The Jewish people just wanted to be able to worship freely in their own place of worship.

So, all people who value religious freedom should hold a special place in their heart for this holiday.