Do Jews Celebrate Christmas?

For Christians, the 25th of December is the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ (better known as Christmas). For Jews, the 25th of December may fall on the Jewish 8-day festival that is known as Hanukkah. The dates do change slightly because Hanukkah is celebrated according to the Hebrew calendar on the 25th of Kislev. This does not always fall on the same day in the Gregorian calendar.

Since the holidays are not synonymous, and nor do they necessarily fall on the same days, what, if anything, does Christmas time mean for the Jews? In short - it does not have any significance, and it is not celebrated by the Jewish people. Although you can find Christmas celebrations all around Israel by the Christian population.

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Jews celebrate Hanukkah, which has festivities lasting for 8 days. Hanukkah celebrates the victory that the Maccabees, a group of Jewish rebel warriors, had over Judea. Antiochus Epiphanes IV was the Syrian ruler who had control over Israel at the time. He decimated the Temple in Jerusalem and made studying the Torah (the divine revelation to Israel that includes the first 5 books of the Hebrew bible) punishable by death.

He was overthrown by the Maccabees who took back the Temple of Jerusalem. Following this, he issued an 8-day celebration of the Jewish faith. This was marked by the rekindling of the menorah on the 25th of Kislev. The menorah is a candelabrum with four places for candles on either side of a central candle for nine candles. The candle in the middle, called the Shamash, is used to light the surrounding eight candles. The reason for lighting these candles during Hanukkah is to represent the 8-days of Jewish celebration. The Shamash represents the small amount of oil that was able to keep the lamps in the Temple burning throughout.

Do Messianic Jews Celebrate Christmas?

Messianic Jews are essentially the middle ground between Jews and Christians. They believe that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah but still celebrate Jewish holidays and follow other Jewish beliefs. While they believe in Jesus as the Messiah, Messianic Jews tend to not believe in Christmas. They are of the same Jewish belief that Westernized Christmas traditions like Santa Claus are ways for industries to gain profits.

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Does Israel Celebrate Christmas?

Israel has, in recent years, started decorating the streets for Christmas, for the Christina citizens and the influx of tourists around this time. Christmas in Israel is not really celebrated by locals, as most of the population is Jewish. Christmas in Jerusalem is great for tourists as the streets are decorated beautifully, and places such as the YMCA hold special Christmas services.

The Meaning of Christmas to Jews

Aside from sharing a date, there is no relationship between Hanukkah and Christmas. They celebrate vastly different things. Christmas, for this reason, doesn't mean much to Jews. For Israel's Jewish population, Christmas simply means an influx of tourists in the holy land.