Understanding Hanukkah

The BYU Religious Studies Center just published a short column by Jeffrey Chadwick, a professor at the Jerusalem Center, on the importance of Hanukkah to Jews, Christians and Latter-day Saints. The introduction:
Hanukkah, the Jewish Feast of Dedication, begins this Friday night at sundown. The Hebrew word Hanukkah actually means “dedication.” The eight-day festival in 2009 runs from Saturday, December 12, to Saturday, December 19. It is a holiday period of considerable significance, both religiously and historically, to Jews the world over. But it should also be of some importance to Christians, including Latter-day Saints, for without the events celebrated in Hanukkah there would have been no Christmas. Here’s the story. (Read the rest.)

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