Why Hanukkah not Celebrated at Squares of Turkey?

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Jews’ Hanukkah, otherwise known as “Festival of Lights” or “Feast of Dedication”, has been celebrated all over the world.

The feast starting with first candle be lighted on Sunday will last eight days. Shalom newspaper compiled tradition of lighting on newspapers all over the world.

Survey on Twitter

Shalom Chief Editor, İvo Molinas, has expressed his will on Twitter for Hanukah to be celebrated in İstanbul similar to how it is celebrated in world cities.

3,704 people participated in Molina’s survey on Twitter “How would it be if candles of Jews’ Feast of Lights light at squares of İstanbul?” in 24 hours. While 40% of the participants responded “it would be very good”, 24 percent chose “Republic of Turkey would become a more democratic country”. While 17% say “it would be meaningless”, 19% say “it’s not possible”.

Paris

Budapest

Brussels

Rome

Syracuse (ABD)

Erdoğan and Davutoğlu too celebrated

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu celebrated Hanukah of Jewish community via message they released.

While Erdoğan says, “I wish peace, happiness, peace to all our Jewish citizens who are an inseparable part of our society” Davutoğlu said, “We stand by human rights and liberties against all kinds of exclusion and discrimination in the name of our Republic, and will continue to do so”.

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. It is also known as the Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication.
When the Second Temple in Jerusalem was looted and services stopped, Judaism was outlawed. In 167 BC Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. He banned brit milah (circumcision) and ordered pigs to be sacrificed at the altar of the temple.

Antiochus's actions provoked a large-scale revolt. Mattathias (Mattityahu), a Jewish priest, and his five sons Jochanan, Simeon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah led a rebellion against Antiochus starting with Mattathias killing first a Jew who wanted to comply with Antiochus's order to sacrifice to Zeus and then a Greek official who was to enforce the government's behest (1 Mac. 2, 24-25). Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BC Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BC the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.

The festival of Hanukkah was instituted to celebrate this event. Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, unadulterated and undefiled pure olive oil with the seal of the kohen gadol (high priest) was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. The story goes that one flask was found with only enough oil to burn for one day, yet it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of kosher oil for the menorah. An eight-day festival was declared by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

Source: Wikipedia

(NV/TK)