Different Religions tied together at Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart may be a Catholic school, but we have many families who celebrate holidays from different cultures and religions. One of these holidays is the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, also known as the Jewish Festival of Lights, which starts tonight December 16. It is an eight day celebration commemorating how the faith came to be.

The tale of Hanukkah is about revolution and patriarchs. The Greeks were taking over the Jewish land, Israel, and they quickly became accustomed to their rituals. Antiochus, the Greek god, decided to completely shut down the Jewish faith. However, a small group of Jews called the Maccabees decided that they were not going to let that happen. They are the ones who brought back the religion and restored the Holy Temple, which had been destroyed. While they were in the Temple they noticed that the menorah (candle lit during the eight day period) was not lit, and their tradition acquires the candle to burn continuously. They searched around and finally found one vial of olive oil that would normally last just one day. It almost seem to be a miracle as the candle stayed burning for eight straight days. (http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/hanukkah.htm)

The tradition today for Jews is to light menorahs every night of Hanukkah. They light one candle each night for the eight days until all eight lights shine together. The menorah also has a ninth candle used to help light the rest. The Jewish people leave their menorah in a noticeable place to profess their faith and let everyone be aware that it is Hanukkah season.

There are many other traditions celebrated during this time. Food such as, fried potato pancakes called latkes, fried doughnuts, and spiced hot chocolate. Also they sing traditional Jewish songs, and prepare a feast in which all their family will attend!