From the depths of antiquity: A skeptic looks at the historic roots of the Festival of Hanukkah
By Charlotte B. Cerminaro
web posted December 18, 2023
At this time of year we don't need to search far and wide to find people of different backgrounds celebrating a vast array of holiday traditions. Many such traditions have persevered through countless generations and are considered to be of historical and religious significance, even if their history isn't emphasized. Details of numerous events in antiquity that gave rise to nascent traditions, did not disappear in the mists of the past. Usually set in a time of great struggle, these were marked by an extraordinary occurrence—and were merely documented, without explanation, by pragmatic historians such as Josephus and Tacitus. The Festival of Hanukkah, also called "The Dedication", was established by one such extraordinary event and its traditions are still observed today.
In the year 164 BCE, Israel was still part of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus IV Epiphanies was the appointed monarch; his violent and tyrannical reign, however, would soon come to an abrupt end. After building an altar to Zeus inside the second temple in Jerusalem, he further desecrated it by slaughtering pigs in the most holy place. Israel's growing unrest and resistance turned into outright revolt. Their army was greatly outnumbered by the Seleucid forces, but under the leadership of (Gen) Judah Maccabee they prevailed in what is now known as the "Maccabean Revolt". Jerusalem and its temple were recaptured and once again in Israeli hands.
Levitical priests had a task of enormous proportions–the temple was thoroughly desecrated and quite probably, filthy beyond any vivid imagination. After the temple was cleansed and suitable for ritual use, the Levites prepared to relight the eight large lamps of the temple's menorah, which had been dark for years. These lanterns stayed perpetually lit using olive oil sealed in jars specifically for this purpose. However, the priests discovered that most of the oil was plundered, their jars broken or taken. Only one sealed jar remained, enough to keep the lamps lit for a single night. Without these lights the temple could not be re-dedicated and was of no practical use.
Shortly before nightfall the priests lit the lamps anyway. They were only mildly surprised that the menorah was still fully lit the next morning. Blackout was clearly imminent; each of them observed the empty oil reservoir. Every hour that passed increased the improbability of the lamps still burning. With no way to rationalize what they were witnessing, the priests kept watch in shifts and hoped their merchants found oil. For 8 days and nights the lamps burned, and on the evening of the eighth day a large supply of oil was finally procured.
It was the 25th day in the month of Kislev that the temple menorah was lit by Levitical priests, nearly 22 centuries ago. Roughly corresponding to the month of December in our Gregorian calendar, the eight day festival is traditionally observed by lighting the candles of a menorah at sundown, every night for 8 nights. Traditional Hebrew prayers are recited but Hanukkah is not considered one of the "major" festivals.
Full narratives were recorded in the books of first and second Maccabees, two documents that are not part of the canonized Masoretic texts. They are included in the Septuagint, the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. A very concise narrative also appears in the work of Flavius Josephus, a first-century historian.
None of the aforementioned documents offer explanations, nor do they pose any hypotheses as to the extraordinary events that punctuate our past. Once we attempt to rationalize or explain, we leave our realm of expertise and this is the place where I step off, at the intersection of skepticism and speculation.
To search out the roots of a tradition or belief is more than a function of curiosity. History was recorded for future generations and as such, it is for us. Those who wrote it down and sent it into the future, left an enduring gift for the benefit and enrichment of all humankind. 
Charlotte B. Cerminaro is a Juilliard-trained classical musician and recording artist. In her free time she enjoys writing and regularly contributes to Enter Stage Right and she attained a Bachelor's Degree in Molecular Biology.
