Hanukkah Gifts

Buy Hanukkah gifts for everyone on your list. Whether you spell Hanukkah gifts like this or Chanukah gifts like that, we are your shop for hip Hanukkah gifts.

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that is not mentioned in the Torah because it commemorates a post-biblical event: the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian-Greek rulers of Jerusalem and the subsequent rededication of the Temple in 164 BCE. It also celebrates a miracle that accompanied this event: When the temple was rededicated, one day's worth of oil burned brightly for eight days.

By the time of the Talmud (c. 500 CE), when Judaism's oral-tradition was being recorded, the tale of the Maccabees was no longer popular. The victorious Maccabees had become almost as oppressive as the Syrian-Greek regime and, even worse, their descendents allied themselves with the Romans. So when the rabbis discussed Hanukkah, they focused more on the legend of the miraculous oil than on the victory of the Maccabees.

Because of the discussion of Hanukkah in the Talmud, for most of history, Hanukkah has been a minor Jewish holiday. But in the late 19th century it began to gain popularity and today it is one of the most celebrated Jewish holidays.

This change seems to be due in part to the increasing popularity of Christmas gift-giving and the corresponding wish to offer an alternative, especially for children, that maintains and celebrates Jewish identity. In addition, the Zionist movement, which arose in the late 19th century, found inspiration in the story of the Maccabees.