Hanukkah. You might know it as the Feast of Dedications. This was a relatively new feast as compared to others in the Bible such as Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover or Pesach) and Feast of Booths (Sukkot). Many think that the miracle of Hanukkah is not a reliable story. But it was one that Jesus celebrated. In John 10:22 it says that while Jesus was in Jerusalem he was in the Temple during the Feast of Dedications.
Hanukkah's short story is that during a time when Israel was under control of a Greco-Persian Empire there was a revolt by the people of Israel. They refused to be listen to this empire. And after the revolt they were going to rededicate the Temple. A menorah was lit and they were going to light a candle for each night of the dedication but only found one flask of oil, enough for only one night. But the miracle was that it burned for eight so a different type of menorah is lit for the days of Hanukkah in modern times.
Worshiping YHWH was outlawed by the empire but the Jews refused to listen. While Torah readings happened sometimes the empire would raid homes and synagogues and to throw the officials off the Jews would take out spinning tops with four sides and hid the Torah. The officials thought they were playing games. So, today a dreidel is now used to commemorate the days.
On the dreidel there are four letters. The letters correspond with the words "a great miracle happened here". Why is this important? The only time in scripture that Hanukkah is mentioned is in John 10. What is the connection? If you read Jesus' ministry in a chronological order it would be the first time that Jesus told the world that He is God!
Tell the world. Tell people happy hanukkah because you will be telling them you are dedicated to the One who is God. You proclaim that Jesus is God. Happy Hanukkah.
