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What is Hanukkah? Why do Jews light candles for this holiday?
For the reason that the vacation falls so close to Christmas, large Hanukkah celebrations are progressively a marker of American Jewish identity — a way for Jews to remind ourselves and those all around us that, when we are a portion of this country’s traditions, we also have a distinct culture of our possess. But Jews didn’t normally make such a fuss about the holiday getaway, which starts off on Sunday, Nov. 28, this calendar year. The story that gave increase to the competition of lights does not even surface in the Hebrew Bible. Hanukkah is a rabbinically ordained getaway, as opposed to 1 the Torah instructions Jews to rejoice.…