Hello Gatbel Chuol. The celebration of Hanukkah (or Chanukah, with the 'Ch' pronounced as 'Kh') is a Jewish eight-day celebration "of lights", with the progressive lighting of the Menorah over the eight days & with prayers & special food.
Since it celebrates the reclaiming of the Temple in Jerusalem from the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) who ruled the Holy Land in the 2nd Century BC, this commemoration is purely one for Jewish observance. There is no corresponding celebration or directive for believers in Christ to follow that tradition. One can understand if a Jew who has turned to Jesus as his Saviour may want to remember that eventful time in his history, because it was truly a time of thanksgiving & praise to God for this miraculous deliverance from the Grecian occupation & demands placed upon the Jews.
But if your question is, whether a gentile believer can celebrate Chanukah with his Jewish believer friends, then I don't see a problem with that as it doesn't involve any form of idolatry or conflicts with our faith in Christ.
Since it celebrates the reclaiming of the Temple in Jerusalem from the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) who ruled the Holy Land in the 2nd Century BC, this commemoration is purely one for Jewish observance. There is no corresponding celebration or directive for believers in Christ to follow that tradition. One can understand if a Jew who has turned to Jesus as his Saviour may want to remember that eventful time in his history, because it was truly a time of thanksgiving & praise to God for this miraculous deliverance from the Grecian occupation & demands placed upon the Jews.
But if your question is, whether a gentile believer can celebrate Chanukah with his Jewish believer friends, then I don't see a problem with that as it doesn't involve any form of idolatry or conflicts with our faith in Christ.
This comment thread is locked. Please enter a new comment below to start a new comment thread.
Note: Comment threads older than 2 months are automatically locked.
Do you have a Bible comment or question?
Posting comments is currently unavailable due to high demand on the server.
Please check back in an hour or more. Thank you for your patience!
Report Comment
Which best represents the problem with the comment?