Why does everyone think that Chanukah is the most important Jewish holiday?

It drives me nuts! Yom Kippur is the most important holiday! So I'm just like walking down the hall and some kid points at my star of david that I'm lucky to always get 8 presensts and I'm all like wtf. Then he is all like well your jewish right? You celebrate Chanukah right? Thats when I go insane. Plus it doesn't help that I'm the only jew in my grade. Anyway why do people associate Chanukah immediatly with being jewish??

Why does everyone think that Chanukah is the most important Jewish holiday?
Unfortunately, because it's the most commercialized. Since it falls out around the time of xmas, the two are often grouped together, and it becomes well-known, and people think that Chanukah is the main Jewish holiday, because that's the one they hear most about. In fact, Chanukah has very little to do with presents (although there is a tradition of giving gelt, money)....


again...i think a lot of people don't hear nearly as much about the other holidays, like Pesach (passover), shavuot (not sure there is an english translation, which only proves my point), and sukkot (again, no english translation that I'm aware of). Chanukah seems like the most "fun" which is why most people know about it.
Reply:Yup, I agree with the previous answer. It all has to do with commercialism, unfortunately; however, you will hear many non-Jews bemoaning the fact that Christmas has become too commercial and has lost its spiritual meaning.





By the way, there are translations for shavuot and sukkot--Fest of Weeks and Feast of Booths, respectively, but unless you're Jewish that really doesn't tell you much.