Menorahs lit around world for Hanukkah
Public menorah lightings for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah are planned around the world in locations ranging from ski towns and Caribbean islands to famous landmarks and sports arenas.
Hanukkah begins tonight and lasts for eight days.
Victoria’s public menorah lighting is set for 5 p.m. Dec. 19 in Centennial Square, hosted by Congregation Emanu-El Synagogue. It will be accompanied by music from Victoria High Rhythm and Blues Band and serving of traditional festive doughnuts.
If you’re travelling or vacationing during the holiday, there may be a menorah lighting near you. The Jewish outreach organization Chabad-Lubavitch plans Hanukkah events in hundreds of cities, from the 50 U.S. states to 100 countries.
Celebrations in Vail, Colorado, will include menorahs made from skis. In New Mexico, organizers hope to create a oneof-a-kind menorah made from hot-air balloons on Dec. 17 in Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta Park, which hosts the International Balloon Fiesta each October. Vacationers in destinations such as Cancun, Mexico, and Aruba will also have menorah lightings to attend, along with one in Curacao, home to the oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere dating to 1732.
Many ceremonies will take place in front of landmarks, including the White House in Washington, D.C., Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Kremlin in Moscow and Germany’s Brandenburg Gate. London’s Trafalgar Square will host a nine-metre menorah outfitted with specially designed environmentally friendly bulbs, commissioned by the London Climate Change Agency.
The world’s largest menorah, standing 11 metres, will be lit just outside Central Park in New York City across from the Plaza Hotel at Grand Army Plaza. That menorah lighting began in 1977 and marks its 40th consecutive year this month.
Elsewhere around the world, events are expected in countries ranging from Australia to Laos to Uganda to Argentina.