Happy Chanukah to All: Jew and Gentile Alike

The eight days of Chanukah this year begin on Tuesday the 20th of December. The Jewish historian Josephus gives an account of the history:

["And on the twenty-fifth day of the month Kislev, which the Macedonians call Apellaios, they lighted the lights [phôta] that were on the menorah, and offered incense upon the altar, and laid the loaves upon the table, and offered whole burnt offerings upon the new altar.

As it happened, these things took place on the very same day on which, three years before, the divine worship had been reduced to an impure and profane form of worship; for the Temple had remained desolate for three years after being made so by Antiochus...And the desolation of the Temple came about in accordance with the prophecy of Daniel, which had been made four hundred and eight years before; for he had revealed that the Macedonians would destroy it.

And so Judah and his fellow citizens celebrated the festival of the restoration of the sacrifices of the Temple for eight days, and omitted no sort of pleasure, but everyone feasted upon very rich and splendid sacrifices; and they honoured God, and delighted themselves with psalms of praise and the playing of harps. Indeed, they were so very glad at the revival of their customs and, after so long a time, having unexpectedly regained their right to worship, that they made it a law for their posterity that they should keep a festival celebrating the restoration of their Temple worship for eight days. And from that time to this we celebrate this, which we call the Festival of Lights [phôta], because, I imagine, beyond our hopes this right was brought to light [phanênai], and so this name was placed on the festival."] -continue reading here.

For over 2,000 years Chanukah has been observed on the 25th of the Jewish month Kislev, which corresponds to December.

It would seem to be more than a coincidence that "Christmas" is observed on the 25th of December.

During more than three hundred years after the Messiah was born there was no "Christmas" that was observed by the early Jewish and Gentile believers.

Christmas=Christ's Mass, -- decreed at the Council of Nicea by Constantine in AD 325.

["Chanukah often falls very close to Christmas, and at times is on the very same day. The apostate Roman church, under the direction of Constantine, dictated that Christians were to stop celebrating Chanukah. Records of that time, both Jewish, Pagan, and Christian, indicate that Gentile Believers had an almost universal practice of celebrating Chanukah up until this decree was given by Constantine in 325 A.D. Constantine deemed Chanukah to be "too Jewish." Since the Nazratim, those who were Jewish believers in Yeshua, refused to follow the lead of the Gentile Church and allow Constantine to appoint their officers, Constantine was determined to cut all ties between the Jewish and Gentile components of the Ecclesia. The pagan winter solstice rituals of late December coincided with Chanukah on the 25th of Kislev. Most of the rites and rituals of that pagan holiday were used to replace Chanukah to create Christmas, which was set to be celebrated on December 25. This was thinly disguised with a "Christian" veneer by arbitrarily saying it was the Messiah’s birthday.

Yeshua is shown celebrating the feast of Dedication (Chanukah means "Dedication") in John 10:22,23. It is at this celebration that He declares "I and My Father are One" [John 10:30], which testifies to His Divine origin in His conception. It also reinforces Chanukah as the time of His conception.]--read it all.

Happy Hanukkah!

But the “history” above is pure balderdash. Where in the Acts of the Council of Nicaea was there any discussion of Christmas?? And where is the evidence that Gentile Christians were celebrating Hanukkah?

What actually happened is that the Jewish Christian community was scattered and dispersed by Hadrian’s edict banning Jews from Jerusalem in 135. After that date, the Church in Jerusalem was mostly of Gentile origin and the Jewish Christian community fell into obscurity.

Oh, and Hippolytus of Rome was already citing Dec. 25 as Christ’s birthday in the early 200s.

“...Hadrian’s edict banning Jews from Jerusalem in 135. After that date, the Church in Jerusalem was mostly of Gentile origin and the Jewish Christian community fell into obscurity.”

On the contrary there is documentation that Jewish believers in Yeshua were very much still around long after their dispersion from Jerusalem and Israel.

Even though Gentile Christians had become the majority of believers in Yeshua.

Please see the following article on the anti-semitism of John Chrysostom:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Chrysostom#Sermons_on_Jews_and_Judaizing_Christians

“During his first two years as a presbyter in Antioch (386-387), John denounced Jews and Judaizing Christians in a series of eight homilies delivered to Christians in his congregation who were taking part in Jewish festivals and other Jewish observances.”

[”...Christians in his congregation who were taking part in Jewish festivals and other Jewish observances”]

[42] “It is disputed whether the main target were specifically Judaizers or Jews in general. His homilies were expressed in the conventional manner, utilizing the uncompromising rhetorical form known as the psogos (Greek: blame).”

“One of the purposes of these homilies was to prevent Christians from participating in Jewish customs, and thus prevent the perceived erosion of Chrysostom’s flock.”

“In his homilies, John criticized those “Judaizing Christians”, who were participating in Jewish festivals and taking part in other Jewish observances, such as the shabbat, submitted to circumcision and made pilgrimage to Jewish holy places.”

[43] “John claimed that on the shabbats and Jewish festivals synagogues were full of Christians, especially women, who loved the solemnity of the Jewish liturgy, enjoyed listening to the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, and applauded famous preachers in accordance with the contemporary custom.”

[44] “A more recent theory is that he instead tried to persuade Jewish Christians, who for centuries had kept connections with Jews and Judaism, to choose between Judaism and Christianity.”[45]

“...Jewish Christians, who for centuries had kept connections with Jews and Judaism, to choose between Judaism and Christianity”

Or to phrase it more correctly,-
-choose between adapting his brand of Christianity [Christ=Messiah, Christianity =Messiannic]which sought to de-legitimise the Jewishness of a Jewish religion , or abandon their own Jewish identity heritage .

This was all because of his “Christian anti-semitism”

As far as Constantine decreeing Dec25th as the birth of the Messiah and the creation of Christmas see the link above at the end of the post entitled “Why Dec.25th?”

Also visit the following link:

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Articles/Israel/israel.html

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