Chabad Jewish Center will celebrate the first night of Hanukkah this Sunday, December 14, by lighting a nine-foot public menorah at Bohol Immigrant Circle Park, followed by a community celebration. The festivities, which begin at 4:30 p.m., are free and open to the public. The menorah lighting will be at 5:15 p.m.
Entertainment for all ages will include a Gelt Drop, fire juggling show, Jewish music, a face painter, and arts and crafts, along with a selection of delicious Hanukkah treats, including donuts and latkes.
“This year, we are celebrating Hanukkah with even more joy,” said Rabbi Meir Shmotkin, director of Chabad Jewish Center of Alameda. “The menorah and Hanukkah represent gratitude to the Almighty for freedom of the human spirit, freedom from tyranny and oppression, and the victory of good over evil.”
Visit the Chabad Alameda website for more information about the menorah lighting and celebration. Other Alameda Hanukkah events include a magical Chanukah Wonderland for families on December 21, starting at 10 a.m.
Global Hanukkah campaign
Alameda’s public menorah is part of a worldwide campaign established in 1973 to build awareness and promote observance of Hanukkah. The campaign includes facilitating public menorah lightings, distributing tin menorahs for personal use, hosting Hanukkah car-menorah parades and myriad other Hanukkah activities for kids, families, and individuals of all ages. Hanukkah displays have become a staple of Jewish cultural and American public life, shaping the American practice and perception of the festival.
The annual Hanukkah campaign has distributed millions of personal menorahs to Jews around the world, and erected thousands of public menorahs to share its universal message of light over darkness. This year’s global campaign will reach millions of Jews in more than 100 countries.
More than 15,000 large public menorahs will be put up at sites around the world, including the White House, the Eiffel Tower, the St. Louis Arch, and the Great Wall of China.
About Hanukkah
The eight-day “Festival of Lights” begins at sunset on Sunday, December 14, this year and continues through to the evening of Monday, December 22. It recalls the victory of the weak but spiritually strong Maccabean army, the Jewish rebel forces led by the Maccabees, who defeated the larger Syrian-Greek army and recaptured the Holy Temple in Jerusalem which had been desecrated, according to a press release about the December 14 event distributed by the Chabad Jewish Center of Alameda.
Only one jar of pure oil was found—enough to last for one day—but instead it miraculously burned for eight days and nights. Jews commemorate the miracle by lighting a nine-branched Menorah, eating fried foods like latkes and donuts, and having festive holiday gatherings. Hanukkah carries a message of the victory of light over darkness and freedom over oppression.
