Thanksgiving 2013 fell on the first night of Hanukkah and it was the first time since 1888 that it fell on Thanksgiving day. The next time will not be for 79,000 years. A group of students and their teachers shared this once in a lifetime event in a video titled, “The First Hanukkah Thanksgiving,” Unfortunately that video is no longer available to Kids Speak for America. In it’s place we would like to share with you The Story of Hanukkah. Hanukkah 2015 begins on Sunday December 6th and ends on Monday December 14th.
Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday also known as the Festival of Lights and Feast of Dedication. This holidy is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, coinciding with late November to late December in the secular calendar. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E.
Hanukkah is around Christmas time and in the United States, many parents give their children presents, put up Hanukkah light displays and banners, and celebrate in a number of ways.