Hanukkah 2020: Details about the Menorah lighting tradition

Hanukkah is one of the most important festivals according to Jewish traditions. The Hanukkah is an eight-day winter festival of lights. It is observed every ear on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. This year, the Hanukkah 2020 will be observed from October 10, 2020, from sundown to Friday, December 18, 2020. As the Hebrew calendar is based on the lunar cycle, the dates of Jewish holidays change every year. Hanukkah is observed every year to commemorate the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after a group of Jewish warriors defeated occupying Greek armies.

It is celebrated to mark the triumph of light over darkness and also of spirituality over materiality. As the Hanukkah 2020 is being celebrated, a lot of people have been curious to know about the Menorah lighting and have been curious to know what is Menorah. For all the people who are wondering about the Hanukkah 2020 Menorah and Jewish Menorah lighting, here is everything you need to know about it.

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What is Menorah?

The Menorah is a light stand in Hebrew which has been the pre-eminent symbol of Jews and Judaism for millennia. It is an eight branch candelabrum with a place for a ninth candle which is called the shammes. This ninth candle is used to light the other eight candles. Menorah lighting is done on the first night of Hanukkah. One candle is lit on the first day and an additional candle is lit up on each successive night. This is done until the eighth night when the Menorah is fully illuminated. The Shammes symbolically differentiates eight holy lights from the other mundane light sources.

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The Jewish Menorah lighting and the festival commemorate events that took place in Judea more than 2000 years ago. The army of Jews won despite their small number against the Syrians and took the temple in Jerusalem which was desecrated by the Syrians. The rebels came to be known as the Maccabees. They cleansed and rededicated the temple in Jerusalem in eight-day celebration. It is considered that there was only enough consecrated oil to re-light the candelabra for one day, yet it miraculously remained lit for eight days.

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