Hanukkah Quotes

“In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukkah' and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy Hanukkah!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!”
― Dave Barry

“Santa Claus has nothing to do with it," the latke said. "Christmas and Hanukah are completely different things."

"But different things can often blend together," said the pine tree. "Let me tell you a funny story about pagan rituals.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story

“May the light illuminate your hearts and shine in your life every day of the year. May everlasting peace be yours and upon our Earth.”
― Eileen Anglin

“Sophie wondered when was she going to learn that lots of things seem like a good idea but a small amount of analysis might uncover that such seemingly good ideas are, in fact, intrinsically faulty.”
― Gayle Forman, My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories

“Like the Maccabees, most people want the right to pray to God in their own way. This right is called freedom of religion. The spirit of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is shared by all people who love freedom.”
― Norma Simon, The Story of Hanukkah

“The next day, eating a turkey sandwich with salt and mayonnaise, Rebecca decided Thanksgiving was the best holiday, although she had little to choose from: her family never celebrated Hanukkah but her father was militant about ignoring Christmas and insisted they spend December 25 eating Chinese takeout and going to the movies.”
― Anna Quindlen, Still Life with Bread Crumbs

“Sonnet of Festivals

Christmas isn't about the decorations,
It's about compassion.
Hanukkah isn't about the sufganiyot,
It's about amalgamation.
Ramadan isn't about the feast,
It's about affection.
Diwali isn't about the lights,
It's about ascension.
Our world is filled with festivals,
But what do they really mean?
Celebrating them with cultural exclusivity,
Makes us not human but savage fiend.
Every festival belongs to all of humanity,
For happiness has no religious identity.”
― Abhijit Naskar, I Vicdansaadet Speaking: No Rest Till The World is Lifted

“Oskar is the fruit of those fantasies -- the idea that what needed to be saved was not just lives but hope.”
― Richard Simon, Oskar and the Eight Blessings

“Oskar's particular blessings are blessings that only a major cosmopolitan city can bestow on a refugee. They represent all our potential to survive and even thrive in the face of great loss.”
― Richard Simon, Oskar and the Eight Blessings

“Christmas isn't about the decorations,
It's about compassion.
Hanukkah isn't about the sufganiyot,
It's about amalgamation.”
― Abhijit Naskar, I Vicdansaadet Speaking: No Rest Till The World is Lifted

“Hanukkah's miracle isn't about the oil lasting 8 days, rather it's about the resilience of light amidst darkness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sin Dios Sí Hay Divinidad: The Pastor Who Never Was

“This is amazing," he said, then moved in for a real kiss on the lips. "You're amazing."
The miracle of the oil was great and everything, sure. But me falling in love? With Seth? That was a miracle, too. And, if you asked me, it was even better than doughnuts.”
― Amanda Elliot, Love You a Latke

“The light of kindness and goodness in our heart is ultimately what we must tap into. We do not so much "fight the darkness (of hate and bigotry)" as we illuminate it when we unite our own inner light with the inner light shining in our fellow brothers and sisters”
― Aimee Ginsburg Bikel

“Hanukkah Sonnet

Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah, let's light the menorah,
Let's wipe out all divide, even if some call it utopia.
Come one, come all, no matter the culture,
Let's stuff some latkes while we dreidel together.
Worry not about the candles burning low,
Fear not the darkness of hate and narrowness.
So long as we stand as bridges and not walls,
No darkness is match for our uplifting radiance.
The light of the festival doesn't come from candles,
The sweetness in the air doesn't come from treats.
The light and sweetness of these joyful festivities,
Rise from the loving streams of our heartbeats.
Let us burn bright as the gentle epitome of ahava.
Let us live life as a walking and talking menorah.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Giants in Jeans: 100 Sonnets of United Earth

“Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah, let's light the menorah, let's wipe out all divide, even if some call it utopia. Come one, come all, no matter the culture, let's stuff some latkes while we dreidel together.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Giants in Jeans: 100 Sonnets of United Earth

“Let us burn bright as the gentle epitome of ahava. Let us live life as a walking and talking menorah.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Giants in Jeans: 100 Sonnets of United Earth

“Happy Holidays (The Sonnet)

Spirit of Christmas doesn't grow on a fir tree,
Christmas blooms wherever the heart is hatefree.
Ramadan isn't fulfilled by feasting on some tasty beef,
The greatest of feast is haram if others go hungry.
Hanukkah's miracle isn't about the oil lasting 8 days,
Rather it's about the resilience of light amidst darkness.
Fireworks may be diwali for those still in kindergarten,
Everyday is diwali for an existence rooted in kindness.
The will to love and the will to lift are the backbone,
Of all human celebration, tradition and communion.
Take that fundamental will out of the equation,
All you have left are rituals without meaning and mission.
Fasting, feasting and decorating are step two of any festival.
First and foremost, at our altar within, we gotta light a candle.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sin Dios Sí Hay Divinidad: The Pastor Who Never Was

“The light of the festival doesn't come from candles,
The sweetness in the air doesn't come from treats.
The light and sweetness of these joyful festivities,
Rise from the loving streams of our heartbeats.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Giants in Jeans: 100 Sonnets of United Earth

“You know why most menorahs nowadays have nine branches even though Hanukkah lasts eight days! It is to hold the ninth candle that sacrifices itself to light up the lives of those lamenting in darkness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yarasistan: My Wounds, My Crown

“On the evening of 7 December (1917), the first British troops saw Jerusalem. A heavy fog hung over the city; rain darkened the hills. The next morning, Governor Izzat Bey smashed his telegraph instruments with a hammer, handed over his writ of surrender to the mayor, "borrowed" a carriage with two horses from the American Colony which he swore to return, and galloped away toward Jericho. All night thousands of Ottoman troops trudged through the city and out of history. At 3 a.m. on the 9th, German forces withdrew from the city on what Count Ballobar called "a day of astounding beauty." The last Turk left St. Stephen's Gate at 7 a.m. By coincidence, it was the first day of Jewish Hanukkah, the festival of lights that celebrated the Maccabean liberation of Jerusalem. Looters raided the shops on Jaffa Road. At 8:45 a.m., British soldiers approached the Zion Gate.”
― Simon Sebag Montefiore, Jerusalem: The Biography

“Christmas isn’t about the decorations,
It’s about compassion.
Hanukkah isn’t about the sufganiyot,
It’s about amalgamation.
Ramadan isn’t about the feast,
It’s about affection.”
― Abhijit Naskar, I Vicdansaadet Speaking: No Rest Till The World is Lifted

“You really can't go wrong with the food at any Jewish holiday. Well, with the exception of Passover, because matzah is terrible and eight days of no carbs but matzah and potatoes can have you crying for pizza by the end. But think bagels and lox to break the Yom Kippur fast. All sorts of exotic fruits on Tu B'Shevat. Brisket and tzimmes and noodle kugel for pretty much any occasion. And that's only the Ashkenazi food; I'd been treated to Sephardic and Mizrahi food occasionally at friends' houses growing up, and I remembered fish cooked in spicy tomato sauce, tangines with chickpeas and saffron, Yemenite braided bread with whole eggs hidden in the twists.
But Hanukkah food? Because Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of the oil, it's basically a mitzvah to eat fried foods for the holiday. And doing a good deed by eating French fries or doughnuts is the absolute best way to do a good deed.”
― Amanda Elliot, Love You a Latke

“Some rabbi said that when God works a miracle, He often does it in such a way that it should appear natural. There were some unbelievers in Bilgoray and they said that it was a real squire, a rich spendthrift who was in a mood to squander his money. Those ... always try to explain all wonders as normal events or as coincidences....”
― Isaac Bashevis Singer, The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah

“Often, the only thing that separates ordinary people from extraordinary accomplishments is the realization that there is simply no other choice.”
― Shimon Apisdorf, Chanukah: Eight Nights of Light, Eight Gifts for the Soul