The White Falcon - 21.12.1984, Blaðsíða 3

Jewish holiday of Chanukah
celebrated this week
Contributed by Capt. Barton Wohl
The Jewish holiday of Chanukah will be cele-
brated this year from December 19-26. Chanukah
is translated as "dedication," and the holiday is
also known as the Feast of Lights. Why?
In the year 160 BCE (Before the Common Era), the
Seleucid emperor,Antiochur,had forced the Jews of
Judea to adopt Greek ways. Greek clothing had to
be worn, Greek rituals observed, and Greek gods
worshipped. A group of Jewish guerrillas, led by
Judah the Maccabee, resisted the oppressors and
eventually forced Antiochus to relinquish control
of their homeland.
After achieving their military victory, the
Maccabees set about clenasing and dedicating the
temple, which had been defiled by the Seleucid
Greeks. According to legend, when it came time
to light the menorah (candelabra) in the temple,
there was only enough oil to burn for one day.
However, when the oil was lit, it miraculously
burned for eight days. Hence, the celebration be-
came the Feast of Lights.
Today, Jews celebrate Chanukah by lighting
their own menorahs, one candle the first night of
the holiday and increasing the number each night
for eight nights. Latkes -- fried potatoe pan-
cakes -- are eaten to symbolize the oil that last-
ed eight days and games are played to celebrate
the ancient victory.
The NATO Base Jewish community will have a
Chanukah party Saturday, December 22 at 7 p.m. in
the new Chapel of Light's fellowship hall.
Chapel of Light dedicated with colorful ceremony
Holding their candles high, the
Chapel Youth Choir brought smi-
les to the faces of all with their
performance of a "Melody of Light"
at Sunday's Chapel of Light ded-
ication ceremony. Attended by
both NATO Base residents and Ice-
landic guests of all denomina-
tions, the event was a long-
awaited and joyous success. Dis-
tinguished speakers during the
ceremony included both the Luth-
eran and Catholic Bishops of Ice-
land, RADM Neil Stevenson, Chief
of Chaplains for the Navy and
RADM Ronald Narmi, Commander Ice-
land Defense Force.
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Schedule of religious services
7:30 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
9:15 a.m.
9:30 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
12:30 p.m.
12:30 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
Friday
Jewish Sabbath
Saturday
Catholic Mass
Sunday
Sunday School (Lower school)
Catholic Mass
Protestant Morning Worship (Com-
munion first Sunday)
CCD (Lower school)
Catholic Mass
Lutheran Communion Service (First
and third Sundays)
Pentecostal Service
Episcopal Communion Service
Evening Bible Study
Lay Reader Services (Upper school)
9:30 a.m. Church of Christ
9:30 a.m. The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints
3:00 p.m. Pentecostal Service
The White Falcon December 21, 1984
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