Chanukah day 4

Why do we give presents on Chanukah?

The modern tradition of giving presents has been mostly influenced by Chanukah’s proximity to Christmas.  But that’s not the whole story, there has always been a tradition of giving “gelt,” or coins, associated with Chanukah.  When we hear gelt most of us think of the chocolate coins, but until recently the giving of gelt was of actual coins.  This is the Jewish origin for the tradition of giving on Chanukah.  What is the reason behind this tradition?

1.       There is a Jewish law that one should not derive any benefit from the Chanukah candles, the candles serve one purpose and that is to remind us of the miracles that they commemorate and it would disrespectful to use the candles for another purpose.  The code of Jewish law uses counting money as an example of something you should not do by the light of the candles.  The giving of gelt was a reminder not to count the money in front of the lights.

2.       On Friday I wrote how the bottom line law about lighting candles was that each household should at least have 1 candle.  The widespread custom of giving gelt would enable even the poorest person to fulfill the requirements of the law.

3.       After the Maccabees’ victory they became an autonomous government for the first time in a long time.  One of the signs of an autonomous government is the ability to implement new currency, or mint coins.  The giving of coins commemorates the miracle of the Jewish people’s success during the time of the Maccabees.

One of the nice things about the origins of giving gifts as a part of Chanukah is that there are religious, historical, and practical elements that we are being reminded of.  There are so many Jews with so many approaches and interests.  The nice thing about having multiple reasons for an origin of a tradition is that there are many ways for different people to be able to connect.