Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

From December 25 to January 2, Jews will light Hanukkah candles

Hannukah celebration in the central Sofia synagogue
Photo: BGNES

At sunset on December 25, the Jewish community begins to celebrate Hanukkah. The holiday begins on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar and, depending on the year, can fall in November or December. 

By lighting 9 candles or ritual oil in the Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiah, Jews commemorate the miracle of the second consecration of the Temple, when the myrrh burned for 9 days without being topped up. 


The rededication of the Temple took place during the Maccabean revolt in 166 BC, when the Jews were freed from the rule of the Seleucids. 

Like Christmas, Hanukkah is a family holiday, children receive gifts and treats for 8 days, and adults eat mainly dishes cooked with meat and oil.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Bulgarian Partriarch Daniil

Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria and the world celebrate Christmas

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas with solemn services. The festive services began on Christmas Eve, when the church held a solemn vigil.  Hundreds of laypeople gathered at the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, where..

published on 12/25/24 9:25 AM
Photo: Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese in the USA, Canada and Australia

Metropolitan Joseph: Christmas is a double holiday for Orthodox Bulgarians in the USA, Canada and Australia

This year, the holiday of Christmas for the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese in the United States, Canada and Australia is especially exciting! Metropolitan Joseph’s long-standing prayers to have his own vicar bishop have come true. His previous..

published on 12/25/24 4:30 AM

Patriarch Daniil: Let the living faith turn our hearts into a manger to cradle the newborn Savior

His Holiness Daniil, Patriarch of Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia, addressed the Orthodox Christians on the eve of the bright Nativity of Christ (Christmas Eve). "Silent in prayer, gathered around the warm hearth, we await the fulfilment of what was..

published on 12/24/24 6:05 PM