2019-12-24 Tue

The 25th day of the Kislev month of Hebrew Calendar brings the Festival of Light. The Hanukkah! Hanukkah is a Jewish festival that lasts for a period of eight days.

Hanukkah means “dedication” in Hebrew. The festival is observed to commemorate the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, which took place at the time of the Maccabees Revolt, of 2nd century BC. The according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt.

The events that inspired the Hanukkah holiday took place during a particularly turbulent phase of Jewish history. Around 200 B.C., Judea (the Land of Israel) came under the control of Antiochus III, the king of Syria He allowed the Jews who lived there to continue practicing their religion. His son, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, proved less benevolent: Ancient sources recount that he outlawed the Jewish religion and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods.

Led by the Jewish priest Mattathias and his five sons, a large-scale rebellion broke out against Antiochus and the Seleucid monarchy which was then led by his son Judah aka Judah Maccabee. Within two years the Jews had successfully driven the Syrians out of Jerusalem, and a cleansing ritual was performed.

The gold candelabrum was burned. According to the Jewish belief, the lamps had very little oil to keep the menorah’s candles burning for a single day. However, the flames continued flickering for eight nights. This wondrous event inspired the Jewish sages to proclaim a yearly eight-day festival.

In the year 2012, India and Isreali Post issued a joint issue to commemorate the 20 years of friendship. The stamps were based on the theme of the Festivals of light of the respective countries i.e. Diwali and of course Hanukkah. The India stamp comes with Rs. 5 and depicts the star of David in the center surrounded by eight lamps.

Visit philamart to view and purchase variety of stamps from all over the world.