Is a tradition of giving Hanukkah presents to kids taken from Christmas?
That’s a good question. Although many answerers and saying that Chanuka came before Christmas, that really doesn’t mean anything, since it doesn’t mean that giving gifts on Chanuka was done right at the start, in year 165 B.C. Although it is a tradition to give gelt (money) on this holiday, giving gifts is something that is being done only in the last many years. This is something that slowly filtered through to the jews, and technically, there is nothing wrong with doing it, as it is basically the same thing is giving money. The tradition of giving money might originate from when the Jews destroyed the armies of the Syrians, they took large quantities of weapons, armor, and money as plunder. And, as was usual in ancient days, this loot was distributed among the victorious soldiers. I propose that this is the true origin of the traditional Chanukah Gelt given during the festival. On the first celebration of Chanukah in Jerusalem, and during the ceremonies of rededicating the Temple, la
