Sunday, December 13, 2009

Happy Hanukkah...Part II Governors holiday mansion tour...

Happy Hanukkah from the Governors Mansion in Georgia.


There was a wonderful display of Jewish art work in the Governors mansion made by the students at the Epstein School here in Atlanta ages preK thru 8th grade.


Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days and nights, starting on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar (which is November-December on the Gregorian calendar). In Hebrew, the word "Hanukkah" means "dedication."

The holiday commemorates the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Jews' 165 B.C.E. victory over the Hellenist Syrians. Antiochus, the Greek King of Syria, outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods.

In 168 B.C.E. the Jews' holy Temple was seized and dedicated to the worship of Zeus.

Some Jews were afraid of the Greek soldiers and obeyed them, but most were angry and decided to fight back.

The fighting began in Modiin, a village not far from Jerusalem. A Greek officer and soldiers assembled the villagers, asking them to bow to an idol and eat the flesh of a pig, activities forbidden to Jews. The officer asked Mattathias, a Jewish High Priest, to take part in the ceremony. He refused, and another villager stepped forward and offered to do it instead. Mattathias became outraged, took out his sword and killed the man, then killed the officer. His five sons and the other villagers then attacked and killed the soldiers. Mattathias' family went into hiding in the nearby mountains, where many other Jews who wanted to fight the Greeks joined them. They attacked the Greek soldiers whenever possible.

Judah Maccabee and his soldiers went to the holy Temple, and were saddened that many things were missing or broken, including the golden menorah. They cleaned and repaired the Temple, and when they were finished, they decided to have a big dedication ceremony. For the celebration, the Maccabees wanted to light the menorah. They looked everywhere for oil, and found a small flask that contained only enough oil to light the menorah for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. This gave them enough time to obtain new oil to keep the menorah lit. Today Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting candles in a menorah every night, thus commemorating the eight-day miracle.

* the above information was provided by History.com

Stay tuned for Part III later this week.

16 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for visiting. I enjoyed looking at the GA gov's mansion!

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  2. Enjoyed this part of the tour also. Thanks!

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  3. The art work is very nice, Joyce. I enjoyed both parts of the tour. Thanks!

    xoxo
    Jane

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  4. Enjoyed your post, Joyce! Lovely art work on display!
    hey, did they at least serve a latke or two?

    Happy Holidays!

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  5. Thank you for sharing these pictures. I have enjoyed the tour very much. Hope you have a joyful week.

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  6. how nice of you to post this great information! I'm trying to get back to visiting everyone's blogs. It's a lot of work!!!
    So you didn't go to the Christmas brunch, huh? I really wished I could have gone...darn!

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  7. And a history lesson to boot! Thanks so much for sharing. I truly enjoyed the read.

    Have a wonderful day enjoying all the blessings of the season!!!

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  8. I enjoyed seeing the children's art. Kids are unafraid when creating something and can do such a beautiful job. I can always use a nice history lesson too.

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  9. HI Joyce,
    It's interesting to learn a bit more about Hanukkah, thanks for doing the research and sharing the info. I enjoyed the tour, also Candyland yesterday - how fun is that?!!
    BYW- I do the same thing with the tree ornaments: "Oh, here's the one that we got when.....blah, blah, blah," and my husband does the same thing as yours - all of a sudden I notice he's gone somewhere to hide!!Oh well, at least he puts the tree up and gets the lights on it!
    Thanks for visiting, have a good week!
    XO
    Heidi - Heart and Home

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  10. thank you for the lesson it was very enlightening! thanks for visiting my blog as well it is nice to see new faces..... uh comments :)

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  11. I love your blog so much. I have to follow you!

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  12. Wow Joyce, I love part one and part two of the tour...fabulous!
    I'm so jealous you were at the game on Sunday! Lucky you!
    So glad you stopped by, don't be a stranger and Happy Holidays!!!
    everything vintage

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  13. I have so enjoyed reading your blog, I have learned something new today.
    The art work is very good too.
    Thanks for visiting Normandy again.
    Maggie

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  14. Hi Joyce! Great post and I enjoyed learning more about Hanukkah!
    Thanks for popping in to see me.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  15. Very intersting - thanks for sharing all that information. I didn't know he decorated for both. Great pictures.

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Thanks for peaking in at my blog! Come back and visit again.