Annual Gathering
Start of Hanukkah celebrated in Saratoga Springs on Sunday
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> The Spa City’s Jewish community celebrated the start of Hanukkah on Sunday at a beloved annual event.
The yearly Hanukkah Celebration was held on Sunday at Congregation Shaara Tfille and The Jewish Community Center of Saratoga Springs, located at 84 Weibel Ave.in Saratoga Springs. The event is sponsored by a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Northeast New York.
Attendees gathered to enjoy holiday songs, dreidel games, a dairy luncheon and a men or ahlighting ceremony, followed by a performance by local magician Alan Edstrom
All of this was just ahead of Hanukkah’s official beginning on Sunday evening. The 2018 holiday will continue through the week, ending in the evening of Monday, Dec. 10.
“It’s the start of an eight- day festival of lights,” said Rabbi Kenneth Blatt, who conducted a menorah-lighting ceremony with a group of children.
After, event-goers sang the traditional “Maoz Tzur” or “Rock of Ages,” along with some other Hanukkah tunes.
Afterward, the group enjoyed a meal featuring latkes, or potato pancakes, with applesauce and sour cream. For dessert, there were jelly donuts. It is also traditional to consume oily foods during this holiday because the Ha--
nukkah story includes a miracle involving oil, Blatt explained.
“It’s just a great way to start the holiday,” Blatt said of Sunday’s annual gathering. “Hanukkah is a very, very happy, celebratory festival.”
Congregation member Eileen Woodcock, of Queensbury, took her grandchildren to the local Hanukkah Celebration. “It’s great for the kids,” she said shortly after her nine-year- old grandson Nathan McCullen lit the first candle during the menorah-lighting ceremony. “It’s just fun. The kids always seem to have a good time.”
Woodcock also enjoys being part of the festivities herself, she said, noting that she likes the food. “I love Hanukkah.”