Do Jews get presents on Hanukkah just so they don't feel left on because of Christmas, or is there a real reason for the gifts? Also, i think if their is no reason they should just celebrate Hanukkah without any gifts and get gifts on Christmas from "Santa." Christmas really isn't a Christian holiday any more.
2007-12-03 08:18:57 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Hanukkah
Originally, children were given gelt (which WAS real money) as a reward for studying at the time of Hanukkah. As time went by and Christmas became largely commercialized, Hanukkah was also commercialized and larger gifts were given. From a Jewish sense, Hanukkah is the LEAST important holiday. E-mail me if you have any questions--I'd be glad to help.
2007-12-03 11:19:26 · answer #1 · answered by anonymous 4 · 74⤊ 13⤋
How Many Gifts For Hanukkah
2016-10-17 01:03:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
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RE:
Why do Jews get presents on Hanukkah?
Do Jews get presents on Hanukkah just so they don't feel left on because of Christmas, or is there a real reason for the gifts? Also, i think if their is no reason they should just celebrate Hanukkah without any gifts and get gifts on Christmas from "Santa." Christmas really isn't...
2015-08-20 07:09:29 · answer #3 · answered by Barth 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This "Best Answer" has a lot of incorrect information. First, Hanukkah is not the least important holiday by any means. This statement is plain ignorance. Furthermore, gelt was not given as a reward for studying. Jews were forbidden from studying Judaism by the Greeks, so their parents gave them gelt (money) to play dreidel (a gambling game with). This was a diversion so that the police would think they were only playing and not realize they were studying as well.
2013-12-03 08:37:01 · answer #4 · answered by Kelly Taylor 1 · 2⤊ 2⤋
I disagree with the statement that Christmas isn't a Christian holiday any more. I celebrate Christmas as Christ's birth. I don't teach, nor did I ever teach, my children about Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny for that matter. We celebrate Easter as the Resurrection of Jesus after his death on the cross. We do exchange gifts on Christmas and I'm sure that is simply part of the tradition that has made Christmas so commercialized through the years. However, honestly, I believe Christmas is a wonderful time of year to help those in need....those who are suffering due to loss of jobs, sickness, etc. The greatest gift we can give to others is our love and friendship and, yes, our money to help with bills and toys for underprivileged children.
2013-12-22 00:47:05 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not all Jewish Americans do that. We never give gifts at Chanukkah. The ones who do this are allowing their religion to be corrupted by the popular culture of greed and materialism. Why they are ashamed of being Jewish I don't know. It's very sad. We are meant to be a people set apart, not one who waters down their religion to be like everyone else.
2016-03-13 06:29:13 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is a fairly recent tradition in intimation of Christmas,gift giving is not normally considered a part of Judaism
2014-06-03 02:57:27 · answer #7 · answered by Kevin7 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, there is a reason for giving gifts on Channukah. In fact, it started long before Christmas, and it just so happens Christmas is around the same time. (It is funny though, how christmas is december 25 and Channukah is the 25th of kislev - a month on the jewish calender).
Anyways, back to my point. There is a reason for giving gifts on channukah because children play an important role in the channukah story. They risked their lives learning torah, and when a greek soldier came, they quickly hid their books and pulled out driedle, pretendng only to play games. We want our children to grow up to be that willing to learn torah. Also, they are our future. So we really give gifts to our children to say thank you.
The custom of giving gifts to other people outside the family sort of caught on, i guess.
~Chaya Rina
2007-12-03 12:58:48 · answer #8 · answered by On The Wild Side 1 · 37⤊ 11⤋
Hehehe...
Truth is Hannukah is NOT the gift-giving holiday in the Jewish year, Purim is. The reason gifts are given on Hannukah is not actually to celebrate the miracle of G-d's presence in the temple and triumph of Jewish tradition despite its being outlawed by many nation as shown through the miraculous payer-related burning of candles from almost no fuel (a grace given by G-d)....The reason presents are given is simply to make it more convenient for Jews to follow the Christian "Holiday season"...it's purely a commercial bending of tradition. That way Jews don't have to shop when absolutely no stores have sales and/or extra stock of gifts.
Any Rabbai could back me up on this...I'm sure.
Darn...the last answerer (in many ways) beat me to the punch ...you may want to listen to her instead. :-)
2007-12-03 08:29:29 · answer #9 · answered by M S 5 · 47⤊ 12⤋
That's a good question.
Although it is a tradition to give gelt (money) on Hanukka, giving gifts is something that is being done only in the last many years. This is something that slowly filtered through to the Jews, and technically, there is nothing wrong with this, as it is basically the same thing as giving money.
The tradition of giving money might originate from when the Jews destroyed the armies of the Syrians, they took large quantities of weapons, armor, and money as plunder. And, as was usual in ancient days, this loot was distributed among the victorious soldiers. I propose that this is the true origin of the traditional Chanukah Gelt given during the festival. On the first celebration of Chanukah in Jerusalem, and during the ceremonies of rededicating the Temple, large amounts of these coins were given to the soldiers, the widows and orphans of the war dead.
The tradition has changed from giving money to giving gifts because:
In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of secular Jews, who wanted a Jewish alternative to the Christmas celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.
Interesting, isn't it?
2007-12-03 08:27:45 · answer #10 · answered by !ts _a_ type 5 · 71⤊ 11⤋