In response to “Peace and Harmony,” published in the Jan. 5 issue.
Julie Ellerton rightly calls her picture of the créche and menorah together “a great message of acceptance.” But in a way, the menorah is as much a symbol of Christmas as the créche — for at this time of year, Jesus, Mary and Joseph lit a menorah, along with their fellow Jews.
The menorah’s light would truly have warmed Jesus’s heart, for the crucial victory and miracle it commemorates was more recent in his day than the Revolutionary War is to us today, and if the Maccabees had lost, it may have meant the end of Judaism and so, no Christianity.
In this way, Hanukkah belongs to Christians as well as Jews, as do all the Jewish holidays, the Torah, the Ten Commandments and the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament. Christians inherit this invaluable treasure through their savior.
Since Christmas has truly become an American holiday, some Jews have begun putting Christmas trees in their homes, and light their menorahs next to the tree. I would encourage Christians to light Hanukkah menorahs next to their trees, too. We can use all the light we can get. It represents hope, goodwill, trust in God and love of freedom; together, we must never let that candle go out.
Rueben Gordon