Chanukah

[ameran]

Can anyone tell me how to say "Happy Chanukah" in Mandarin together with the Pinyin transliteration. Many thanks! Ameran

[elina]

According to 金山词霸：

Chanukah：

(=Hanuka)光明节(犹太人一纪念节日)，犹太圣节，（犹太教）献殿节

An eight-day festival beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, commemorating the victory in 165 b.c. of the Maccabees over Antiochus Epiphanes (c. 215-164 b.c.) and the rededication of the Temple at Jerusalem.

犹太圣节一种从（犹太历）三月的第二十五天开始并持续8天的节日，以纪念公元前165年马卡比一家战胜安提俄克斯·埃皮费尼（C.215-164 公元前）和为位于耶路撒冷的神殿的献身

So "Happy Chanukah" I think can be translated as光明节快乐，guāng míng jié kuài lè

[ameran]

Many thanks to Elina for translating "Happy Chanukah" for me. xie xie!

Elina also dug into the origin of the Chanukah celebrations, and this prompted me to look further.

Here is some of what I found.

Chanukah and the Lantern Festival of Yuan Xiao Jie both occur near the winter solstice; both are celebrations of joyful relief that once again the days are growing longer. The essential difference between the two jie is that the last day of Yuan Xiao Jie coincides with a full moon, while the last day of Chanukah coincides with a new moon. All the myths and folklore connected with such festivals are manmade. The phases of the moon and the sun are natural events, and when we celebrate Chanukah or Yuan Xiao Jie we are honouring nature - celebrations that can be traced back to antiquity in many cultures.

I wish I could express all this in Mandarin. Unfortunately, my knowledge of Mandarin is limited to a number of day-to-day phrases.

Once again, my thanks to Elina - and thanks to Chinese-forum.

Wan shi ru yi

Zai jian

Ameran