nPostednon November 28, 2013
n
n
n
nManynpeople are saying that this has never happened before. And that itnwon’t happen again until the year 79,811!
n
n
n
nWhichnis more than 77 THOUSAND years from now.
n
n
n
nBut….that’snnot quite true.
n
n
n
nWhatnare we talking about? This year a very rare event is going to happen:nHanukkah will start on Thanksgiving!
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nGobble tov! Getnout your menurkey! Light the candles on the tur-norah! Spin thendrumstick dreidel and collect the giblet gelt!
n
n
n
n
nNow,nwhy, oh why am I disagreeing with the people saying that this hasnnever happened before and won’t happen again for tens of thousands ofnyears?
n
n
n
nBreakingnit down:
n
n
n
nAlthoughnthe Pilgrims and their friendly Native American neighbors ate thenfirst Thanksgiving in the fall of 1621, and President GeorgenWashington declared a national day of Thanksgiving on the lastnThursday of November in 1789, Thanksgiving didn’t become a regular,npredictable national holiday until 1863, when Lincoln declared thenlast Thursday of November to be henceforth a national holiday. (Henwas of course honoring the date that Washington had established as anone-time thing 74 years earlier.)
n
n
n
nPresidentnFranklin D. Roosevelt later changed Thanksgiving from the lastnThursday in November to the fourth Thursday in November; still, wenwill start counting from the 1863 Thanksgiving. And here is hownThanksgiving stacks up with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah:
n
n
n
n(Wait!nFirst I’d better mention that Hanukkah is always celebrated on then25th day of the month of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar.nAlso, Jewish holidays always start at sundown of the evening before.nSo, keeping those things in mind…)
n
n
n
n
n
nThanksgivingn11/29/1888 – first day of Hanukkah (but it started the eveningnbefore, so light two candles on the menorah)
n
n
n
nThanksgivingn11/30/1899 – fifth day of Hanukkah (light 6 candles)
n
n
n
nThanksgivingn11/28/1899 – Hanukkah eve (light 1 candle)
n
n
n
nThanksgivingn11/28/2013 – first day of Hanukkah (light 2 candles)
n
n
n
nAnd,nassuming that Thanksgiving continues to be the fourth Thursday, andnthat the Gregorian calendar remains in use without alteration, ANDnassuming that Hanukkah remains Kislev 25 on the unaltered Hebrewncalendar:
n
n
n
nThanksgivingn11/27/2070 – Hanukkah eve (light 1 candle)
n
n
n
nThanksgiving 11/28/2165 –nHanukkah eve (light 1 candle)
n
n
n
nWherendid the 79,811 date come in? A Jewish scholar computed that date asnthe next time that the FIRST day of Hanukkah (light two candles)nwould happen on the fourth Thursday of November. I feel just a littlenbit skeptical that it will take that long for the calendars to synchnup again…but I can see that this is a different question than “Whennwill any part of the Hanukkah celebration (from sundown of the 24thnof Kislev to sundown on the last day of Hanukkah) coincide withnThanksgiving?”
n
n
n
n
n
nFornmore on Thanksgiving, check out these earlier posts:
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
- n
- then first Thanksgiving
- then history of Thanksgiving
- traditional Thanksgiving menu items suchn as seals and eels
- whyn some call this day the Nationaln Day of Mourning
- little known facts about Thanksgiving
n
n
n
n
n
n
Alsonon this date:
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
Author and artist William Blake’s birthday
Author and artist William Blake’s birthday
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAnniversaryn of Magellan naming the Pacific Ocean
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAnniversaryn of the first skywriting in U.S. skies
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAlbania’sn Independence Day
nAlbania’sn Independence Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nBurundi’sn Republic Day
n
nBurundi’sn Republic Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nChad’sn Republic Day
nChad’sn Republic Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nMauritania’sn Independence Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPanama’sn Independence Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPlannAhead:
n
n
Checknout my Pinterest boards for:
Checknout my Pinterest boards for:
n
- n
-
nn Novembern holidays
n
-
nn Novembern birthdays
n
- n Historicaln anniversaries in November
nn
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
n
n
- n
-
nn Decembern holidays
n
-
nn Decembern birthdays
n
- n Historicaln anniversaries in December
nn
n
n
n
n
