It is also very interesting that modern day Jews celebrate the feast of dedication or Hanukkah which begins on December 25th. It is supposedly celebrated as a memorial of the dedication of the altar or to commemorate the cleansing of the sanctuary by the Maccabees in the year 165 B.C. However, the Jewish Encyclopedia states that December 25th: "...had been celebrated as the winter solstice feast by the Jewish people before it became a historical festival associated with the great Maccabean victory." (Jewish Encyclopedia, 1905, Vol. 6, p. 224)

   It is obviously unknown how many years or decades the Israelites and later the Jews celebrated this feast of dedication or Hanukkah. But it seems a bit ironic that the Jews now celebrate their Hanukkah beginning on the day Christ was conceived. Perhaps it was designed by God that the Jews, a people who despise the name of Jesus, and to this day refer to Him as a bastard, would celebrate the day of His conception as one of their holy days!!!!