The Festival of Hanukkah is a Jewish celebration, and it is about celebrating the recovery and re-dedication of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C. Hanukkah is spelled in different ways, Hanukah, Chanukah, Chanukka, and other variations.
Rabbi Michael Lerner writes the essence of Hanukkah in Tikkun Olam. “It is the holiday celebrating the triumph of hope over fear, light over darkness, and the powerless over the powerful.”He went on to say that Chanukah is about “understanding that when we connect with the transformative power of the universe, the Force of Healing and Transformation, YHVH, we become aware that the powerless can become powerful, that oppression of any sort is in contradiction to the fundamental nature of human beings as loving, kind, generous, free, creative, intelligent, attuned to beauty, caring for and needing each other beings created in the image of God. When that energy and awareness permeates our consciousness, no ruling elite and no system of exploitation can last for very long.”
When we live as neighbors, we might as well learn about each other. The best way to build cohesive societies is for its members to understand each other’s sorrows, joys, festivities, and commemorations. Wouldn’t it be nice to know a bit about your neighbor’s festival and invite them to your celebrations to start safe neighborhoods by understanding each other? Every human and every religious group celebrates something or the other in their way, each one is different, but the essence is the same; celebrations and commemorations. I have been writing about the meaning of significant festivities and commemorations of all religions.
More about Hanukkah at https://centerforpluralism.com/happy-hanukkah-3/