Hanukkah, Pigs, and the True Light that Never Goes Out

Every year about this time, Hanukkah rolls around (this year 14–22 Dec 2025). Eight nights of lights, doughnuts, dreidels… and a lot of Christians suddenly discover their “inner Jew” because they’re fed up with Santa and sales. Fair enough!

But what is Hanukkah actually about, and why did Jesus show up for it?

1. The Only Bible Mention – Jesus Was There!

John 10:22-23 (NKJV) “Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.”

That’s it. One verse. But Yeshua chose that exact festival to declare, “I and My Father are one” (v.30) and “My sheep hear My voice” (v.27). Powerful!

2. What Actually Happened in History?
Around 167 BC a mad Greek-Syrian king, Antiochus IV (called “Epiphanes” – he thought he was a god), tried to wipe out biblical Judaism. He:

Banned the Torah and the Sabbath
Killed anyone who circumcised their boys
Put a statue of Zeus in the Temple
Sacrificed a PIG on God’s altar (the original “abomination of desolation”)

A priest called Mattathias and his son Judah “the Hammer” Maccabee said NO. They started a revolt, beat impossible armies, and on 25 Kislev 164 BC they cleaned the Temple and lit the menorah again. They celebrated for 8 days – and that became Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication.

(The “one day of oil lasted eight days” story is lovely, but it’s not in the Bible or even in 1 Maccabees – it came centuries later. Still a great picture of Jesus, the Light that never fails!)

3. Jesus, Pigs, and a Cheeky Echo
Fast-forward 160 years. Jesus steps into a pagan area full of… pigs (Mark 5). Those pigs were almost certainly being raised for sacrifices to Greek gods – possibly even Zeus. A man full of demons (called “Legion”) meets the real King.

What does Jesus do? Sends the demons into the pigs, and 2,000 of them charge down the cliff into the Sea of Galilee and drown!

Think about it:

Antiochus used a pig to defile God’s house.
Jesus uses pigs to show the demons who’s boss and cleanses a man AND the land.

The Maccabees got the pig off the altar. Jesus got the demons out of the man – and the pigs off the planet! Same God, same victory over darkness.

4. Gadarenes? Gerasenes? Help!
The Gospels call the place three different names. Relax – it’s the same miracle! It’s like someone saying:

“He’s from Glasgow” … “Actually Helensburgh” … “Nah, west of Glasgow, same difference!”
Same cliff, same pigs, same splash. Ancient postcode confusion.

5. So Can We Light a Menorah?
Hanukkah isn’t commanded for the church, but Jesus celebrated it, and Romans 14 gives us freedom. If it helps you point people to the true Light of the World (John 8:12), go for it!

This year, try this: