The process of Zionism converting the Jewish holidays to its own needs took place in various stages of erasing, copying and gluing together. For example the miracle of the oil of Hanukah was erased. The Macabees were not presented as fighting to observe the commandments of their religion but as national heroes trying to liberate themselves from the oppression of foreign rule. The two holidays signifying the giving of the Torah – Passover and Succoth – were converted into harvest holidays. Today these holidays are really the holidays of Thai and Pilipino workers – the real and almost only tillers of the soil in Israel at present. The biggest problem facing Israeli culture at the present time regarding the holidays is not the observance of the customs of the holidays and their traditions but ignorance.
On the one hand we have the traditional-religious-Jewish nation that sustains, to one degree or another, a connection to the tradition and on the other hand we have dither Canaanite-secular-Israeli nation that for some time has broken away (willingly or unwillingly) from its roots and its holidays. One country – two nations. This breach is not just a linguistic or cultural divide – it is an expression of a profound disconnect (very profound) between the two nations: the Jewish and the Israeli.
This article goes into great detail in describing the history of this development and its consequences.
