We’ve always been grateful for the generous inclusion of Hanukkah symbols among Christmas decorations, taking it as a well-meaning gesture intended to make Jews feel welcome during the holiday season. Blue and white menorahs, candles and dreidels appear beside red and green wreaths, an acknowledgement that Jewish families, too, are part of the holiday season.
But there’s another way to understand Hanukkah, one that’s rooted in history, not just symbolism: Without Hanukkah, there would be no Christianity and no Christmas.
Hanukkah commemorates a successful Jewish revolt in the second century BCE, led by the Maccabees. At that time, in an effort to expand their Hellenistic Greek empire, the Seleucids did not merely conquer territory; they attempted to eradicate Jewish religious life altogether. Jewish practices were outlawed, sacred texts were destroyed. The Temple in Jerusalem was desecrated with a statue of Zeus.
This was not a “cultural exchange.” This was forced assimilation.
Hanukkah marks the moment when a small outnumbered group of Jews fought back, militarily and spiritually, and reclaimed their right to exist as Jews. The rededication of the temple was not just a ritual act, but also a declaration that Jewish identity would not disappear quietly into history.
That refusal mattered far beyond the Jewish people. Had the Seleucids succeeded, Judaism might not have survived into the Roman period. There would have been no Jewish communities in Judea, no Jewish religious tradition preserved, and no Jewish family in Bethlehem over a century later. A Jewish baby named Jesus would never have been born. Christianity, as the world knows it, would not exist.
This is not a theological claim; it is a historical one. Western civilization often tells its own story as though Judaism was the opening chapter, necessary at the start, but no longer central once Christianity emerged. But Judaism did not survive by accident, or quietly fade into the background. It endured because Jews fought intellectually, spiritually, and sometimes militarily to remain Jews.
Even today Jewish continuity is often celebrated symbolically but questioned substantively. Menorahs are welcomed in public spaces, but Jewish self definition, self-defense, or collective agency is scrutinized. The ancient expectation goes like this: Assimilate, downplay your distinctiveness, bear the realities of certain threats with patience and constraint, and be compliant. And isn’t having a Jewish state a step too far?
Hanukkah contradicts that expectation.
It reminds us that Jewish survival has always required courage, and not just faith, but also strength, perseverance and the refusal to vanish. The historical truth is one that many prefer to forget: The world’s most influential moral and religious traditions rest, in part, on a people who refused to disappear.
Recognizing this does not diminish Christianity; it contextualizes it. It acknowledges that Jewish history is not merely background scenery, but a central pillar of the moral architecture of the West. When Hanukkah candles glow alongside Christmas lights, the gesture should be more than decorative. It should recognize a legacy that has endured against impossible odds, one that helped shape the moral foundation of our world. This history reminds us that defending one’s very existence and identity often requires courage, resilience, and vigilance.
Christians today, like the Jews in the time of the Maccabees, face threats, whether it is persecution in Syria or attacks on communities in Nigeria or any place where being faithful to one’s people, heritage, or religion carries real danger. Understanding the struggle and survival of the Jewish people encourages all of us to stand firm for our values and our humanity.
Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to all.
Leslie S. Lebl is a former foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State, and author of “Hidden Struggle: The Challenge of Sharia in the West.” Tali Gillette is an investigative researcher and writer.
