Why Hanukkah is Not a Biblical Holiday

"But isn't Hanukkah in the Bible?"

"Hanukkah is in the Bible so it's a Biblical holiday."

"Jesus celebrated Hanukkah!"

"The book of Maccabees was in the Bible Jesus read so Hanukkah is a Bible holiday."

I've heard statements like this so many times recently that I want to shed some light on the fact that Hanukkah is not a Biblical holiday, and explain what that means for believers in Messiah. It's crazy how defensive and even vicious people can get about this topic! This post is to help us come to understand truths around this holiday - whether or not we choose to celebrate it. 

Why isn't Hanukkah a Biblical holiday?

The Biblical holidays are set apart times that YHWH himself created and told us to celebrate. Please read that again. The Bible holidays of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Shavuot, Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles were created and ordained by the Living God. Scripture tells us to celebrate them in Leviticus 23, and Deuteronomy 16. They come up in many places throughout the Bible. Significantly the Messiah was killed on Passover, less significantly Paul mentions that sailing was dangerous because it was after Yom Kippur (Acts 27:9). We are told to keep these holidays forever.

Why isn't Hanukkah included in the list of Biblical holidays? Because YHWH didn't tell us to celebrate it. It's not found in the Leviticus 23 list or anywhere else in Scripture.

"But Hanukkah is in the Bible!"

There is a mention of the Messiah being at the Temple during the "Feast of Dedication" in John 10:22 (most translations just say during winter). Many people in the Messianic movement have taken this as a directive to celebrate Hanukkah, but it's a pretty big jump to conclude that anything the Bible mentions is automatically ordained. Most of us recognize that just because Acts 19:28 says, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians," that's not a Biblical truth or directive for what we should say! And the Messiah being somewhere does not automatically legitimize something, or require our celebration. He spent time with sinners - that does not mean he approved of their actions! We know he attended weddings, but no one is having a holiday every year to remember the wedding where he turned water into wine.

We should also note that if you read John 10, the first thing the Messiah says is that the people there didn't believe his words. Nothing in the passage would give you the idea that he's lighting up a nine-branch hanukkiah or in agreement with everything happening there. The Bible frequently talks about Jewish customs that were manmade, and a significant portion of the Messiah's words are of him speaking against these manmade traditions. It would be surprising if he suddenly had no qualms with something religious leaders had made up. He certainly would not have put any manmade holiday on the same level as the set apart ones created by his Father.

"But the books of Maccabees were in the Bible Jesus read!"

Something that many people overlook about the book of Maccabees is that nowhere in it does YHWH say that people should celebrate Hanukkah. Even if Maccabees were or should be included in the Biblical canon, they contain no directive to create a holiday based on the events recorded. The books also contain nothing about the supposed miracle of one day's worth of oil lasting for eight days, which is what the manmade hanukkiah light is based on. 

Many believers in Messiah that celebrate Hanukkah are quick to rebuke others for celebrating Christmas...even though both holidays are "Bible based." 

I'm sick of people verbally abusing Christians who celebrate Christmas, saying that they are pagan because Christmas isn't a holiday found in the Bible, then turning around and taking part in another holiday that is also not found in Scripture. This double-standard is unfair, and a poor testimony of the work of the Messiah in our lives, and shows a lack of understanding of the word.

"But I want to celebrate the amazing story of the Maccabees!"

That's your choice, but be aware you are doing that because that's what you want to do - not because YHWH commanded it. I agree that the Maccabees story is inspirational! But something having spiritual significance doesn't automatically make it a Bible holiday. Christmas is also not a Biblical holiday, even though it is based on Bible events and has meaning to its celebrants. We could take any Bible story and turn it into our own holiday if we wanted. There could be David and Goliath Day or Water Into Wine Wednesdays. We could invent these holidays and they could be fun, meaningful, and teach Biblical truths...but that doesn't put them on par with the holidays YHWH created.

If you want to celebrate Hanukkah, that's your choice. But don't do so thinking that it's a Biblical holiday, because it's not - it's a holiday invented by man. Manmade holidays aren't always bad, but we shouldn't esteem them as highly as the Biblical holidays the Living God directed to celebrate. Hanukkah is not a holiday the Bible commands us to celebrate.

*Please note that this post is to clarify why Hanukkah is not included in the seven Biblical holidays. I realize it is a significant holiday in Judaism, with historic and spiritual meaning. I mean no disrespect to that. My goal is to teach the distinction between what Scripture says and Jewish customs. Many Jews have told me they don't want to see the Messianic movement appropriating their culture, which is why I want believers in Messiah to know the difference between Jewish culture and Biblical commandments. Blessings to all!

Related posts:
What Believers in Messiah Need to Keep in Mind about Hanukkah
Why Christmas is Not a Biblical Holiday
Why I Don't Celebrate Hanukkah