Is this really happening? Can Hanukkah actually be this week? I’m all for latkes and dreidels, but this holiday season is already ridiculous. I’m still full from all that turkey.
If I’m not mistaken, we’ve just entered High Holidays 2.0.
It’s not always like this. But with the Hebrew calendar being pushed so early, this year we go straight from family time on Thanksgiving to family time on Hanukkah. And this has some dire consequences. Before you know it, Hanukkah is going to turn into Sukkot. You know Sukkot, that otherwise pretty awesome holiday except for the fact that you’ve already been through Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. And just like Sukkot, you have to get through eight full days of it!
Here in New York, it hasn’t even snowed yet. There are even some leaves left on the one tree on my street. In other words, it’s definitely not winter.
Obviously we can’t change the calendar. But December 1st for Hanukkah? It just doesn’t seem right that’s all. Plus, once it’s over, we still will have to endure a full three weeks of Christmas commercials. Spare me please.
Hanukkah
Pronounced: KHAH-nuh-kah, also ha-new-KAH, an eight-day festival commemorating the Maccabees’ victory over the Greeks and subsequent rededication of the temple. Falls in the Hebrew month of Kislev, which usually corresponds with December.
Rosh Hashanah
Pronounced: roshe hah-SHAH-nah, also roshe ha-shah-NAH, Origin: Hebrew, the Jewish new year.
