Hanukkah found to be most widely observed Jewish holiday among British Jews, new study reveals

As part of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research’s (JPR) “Jews in Uncertain Times Survey,” researchers found that Hanukkah is the most widely observed Jewish holiday among British Jews, with nearly nine in ten saying they lit Hanukkah candles last year.

The report found that 89 percent of British Jews lit Hanukkah candles at least once last year, compared to those who participated in a Passover seder (84 percent) or Rosh Hashanah celebrations for the Jewish New Year (74 percent) according to UK based media outlet, Jewish News.

The nine-page paper by Dr. David Graham, “Celebrating the Festival of Lights,” details their analysis of data collected from over 4,800 adults, looking at the popularity of the holiday among British Jews, exploring which types of Jews are more likely to celebrate in comparison with other Jewish celebrations.

Introducing the holiday, the paper explains, “Chanukah (or Hanukkah) (lit. ‘dedication’ in Hebrew) is the Jewish Festival of the Rededication of the Temple, or, more popularly, the Jewish Festival of Lights,” adding that it has become widely recognized even outside the Jewish community.

“While Chanukah is well known outside of Jewish circles and, as we show, widely observed among Jews of all backgrounds, it is nevertheless a minor Jewish festival lacking any biblical basis,” JPR clarifies, referring only to the Hebrew Scriptures, since the Feast of Dedication does appear in John 10:22 in the New Testament.

While secular Jews may be less inclined to celebrate Jewish holidays, it seems that the vast majority enjoy the action of lighting candles for Hanukkah. Less than a third of non-practicing Jews (31 percent) celebrate annually, but over two-thirds (68 percent) of the same group said that they lit candles last Hanukkah, whether at home or taking part in a candle-lighting ceremony for the holiday.

JPR reported that Hanukkah was “more likely to be celebrated by younger than older respondents,” with those celebrating “every year” more likely to be in their forties, adding that this “presumably reflects the fact that this age group is most likely to have young children at home.”

Gender and marital status didn’t seem to have any discernible effect, but those in larger households were also more likely to celebrate, again likely reflecting the presence of children.

Unsurprisingly, more religious respondents were found to engage with the holiday more consistently: “Almost all Jews who believe in God or a ‘Higher Power of some kind’ celebrate Chanukah (in the range of 91% to 96% for each of the four most believing groups)” the report stated. However, it added the noteworthy fact that three-quarters (75%) of completely atheist Jews (i.e. those who say “I don’t believe in God”) also celebrated, suggesting the statistic demonstrated the festival’s broad appeal to both religious and secular Jews. 

“Chanukah’s significance in terms of Jewish peoplehood is perhaps even more pronounced, with Jews who regard this dimension of Jewishness as particularly important to them notably more likely to light Chanukah candles than those who see peoplehood as unimportant to them,” the researchers added.

According to UK based outlet Jewish News, JPR executive director Dr Jonathan Boyd reflected on the findings, saying,

“More than any other holiday on the Jewish calendar, Chanukah seems to hold the power to engage Jews of all ages, denominations and levels of community involvement.” 

“The holiday’s parallels with Christmas – time of year, gift-giving, familial feeling – as well as its ritual simplicity and popular foods, appear to help draw in even the least communally-involved Jews to a degree no other Jewish festival can match,” he added.

The paper suggested the same thing, saying “Arguably, its modern popularity and many of its customs are as much due to its close temporal proximity to Christmas as anything else, and indeed, the widespread practice of giving gifts at Chanukah is likely derived from this tradition.”

However, more than just copying Christmas traditions, participants said they were looking for sources of comfort, identity and togetherness, something that lighting candles in the darkness symbolizes well.

“Given that other recent JPR research demonstrates that the home is the most potent environment for transmitting Jewishness to the next generation, it may well be that the candle-lighting ceremonies taking place in Jewish homes across the country in the coming days are among the most valuable Jewish moments we have,” said Boyd.