Dual Celebration: Christmas, Chanukah Meet

FAIRFAX, Va. -- The first night of Chanukah falls on Christmas Day on Sunday for the first time since 1959 and only the fourth time in 100 years.

Rabbi Joshua Ben-Gideon of Congregation Olam Tikvah in Fairfax, Va., said that while it doesn't make a difference to Jews, having everyone off for the first day helps make celebrations easier.

While people celebrating Christmas will be eating turkey and ham, most Jews will nosh on special donuts and potato pancakes known as latkes.

As far as the meaning behind Chanukah goes, Ben-Gideon explained, "The lights the Maccabees were able to bring back to the Temple and having it last for eight days, is the light we try to bring into our own lives."

Jewish holidays are based on a lunar calendar, so Chanukah can start as early as late November, or in late December. They also generally run from sundown to sundown, though Chanukah is an eight-day festival.

In the Bible, Jesus is reported to have visited the Jewish temple during Hanukkah, which the Book of John calls the Feast of Dedication.