Hanukkah away from home
By Annie Goodmiller Special to the Kansan
Winter break always coincides with the celebration of Christmas, but for those who celebrate Hanukkah, the celebration already will have ended.
Hanukkah only coincides with winter break every couple of years because the holiday operates on a lunar cycle. This year the holiday will be Dec.6 through 13.
"By the time I come home this year, all the festivities will be over," said Staci Hoffman, Buffalo Grove, Ill., freshman.
Hanukkah is not one of the most important Jewish holidays, as Christmas is to Christians. The holidays of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and Rosh Hashanah, the festival of Jewish New Year, are more important to the religion.
However, Hanukkah is a time for families to get together, Hoffman said.
According to Michael A. Fishbane's book, Judaism, Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Maccabees after their victory against the Syrians, who had occupied their country. Observers of Hanukkah light one candle on the Menorah each night in memory of the Temple's lamps that burned miraculously for eight nights with enough oil for only one night.
"The gift giving was important for me as a child because a lot of my friends were celebrating Christmas," she said.
Hanukkah traditions include lighting the Menorah each night for eight days and praying. Children play with dreidels, toys similar to tops that tell the story of Hanukkah.
Temple attendance is not obligatory for Hanukkah, and some students understand that the University can't schedule winter break to coincide with the holiday.
"It would be nice to be with my family throughout the holiday," said Michelle Lawner, Overland Park senior. "But the Jewish calendar operates on a lunar cycle, and the University could end up trying to schedule winter break in November to work around it."
The University is understanding of the more important celebrations, Lawner said. Students who inform their professors of the religious events in advance are excused from class without penalty. Other groups also help students out.
"I have been very fortunate to get involved with the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and they are accommodating of the Harukkah holiday," she said. The Menorah and other decorations are displayed along with Christmas decorations, despite Jewish students being a minority at the sorority house.
Some synagogues send packages to college students during the holiday so that they can hold their own celebrations.
Hoffman, a member of the Sigma Delta Tau sorority, said that most of the women in her chapter were Jewish, and that made celebrating the holiday easier.
"The packages usually have a Menorah, a prayer book, candles, a dreidel, and some Hanukkah candy," Lawner said.
"Being away from home on any holiday is never easy, but having people around who understand makes it easier," Hoffman said.
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