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December 24, 2005
Christmas lights
Browsing a few of my regular read blogs I found an item at Hatshepsut's blog on the little seven candle lights now so popular as Christmas decorations. I knew they were based on the Jewish Hanukkuh lights - themselves a version of the great seven branch lamp that once graced the Sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem and the inner tent of the Ark of the Covenant before the temples were built, but the spread of the popularity and the route of their adoption, was a surprise.
Even more interesting is her account of how the little lights have become a very important feature of the Icelandic Christmas. It speaks volumes about just how far reaching the teachings of Christianity have been that the cultural exchange is now returning to its roots in many ways, not least in the rediscovery of the ancient symbology that once formed a vital part of the whole. It is fitting too, to remind us of the fact that our faith has deep roots in Judaism - roots we would do well to understand better.
In fact, we need to discover, as the Jews have done, that our faith is not about buildings, but about people. People, families, children and the teaching and traditions of worship and respect that go with them.
Posted by The Gray Monk at December 24, 2005 03:55 PM
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