Celebrating the start of the Hanukkah season, the Chabad of Augusta will host a public menorah lighting ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 7, in a local park at 6 p.m.
Hanukkah, considered a “festival of lights,” is an eight-day Jewish holiday that is celebrated with special prayers, dreidels, fried foods and a nightly candle lighting – where a flame is added each night to an eight-branched, decorative candelabrum known as a menorah. The holiday officially begins on Thursday evening and continues on until Friday, Dec. 15.
Taking place at Evans Towne Center Park, the event will feature a 9-foot menorah that will be on display for the entire 8 days of Hanukkah, also known as Chanukah.
“This Hanukkah, Augusta’s seeing a surge in families’ public displays of the holiday and Jewish identity, with many more individuals planning to light their menorahs in visible places, such as their doors or windows,” according to a press release from the Chabad of Augusta. “The CSRA’s public Hanukkah gatherings expect a larger than usual crowd this year in a strong statement of Jewish pride and confidence.”
Prior to the lighting of the candles, children will partake in special Hanukkah crafts and other fun activities, such as feasting on a selection of holiday foods and hot drinks.
The lighting of the menorah will take place after sunset as the Hanukkah candles must burn after night falls, since their purpose is to symbolize the bringing of light into darkness, according to the Chabad of Augusta website.
“It recalls the victory of a militarily weak but spiritually strong Jewish people, who defeated the Syrian-Greeks who had overrun ancient Israel and sought to impose restrictions on the Jewish way of life,” stated the press release from the Chabad of Augusta. “… today, the holiday carries a universal message of the triumph over oppression, of spirit over matter, of light over darkness.”
Following the menorah lighting, children are scheduled to perform traditional holiday songs while attendees enjoy Latkes, a special Hanukkah treat similar to potato pancakes.
“The holiday of Hanukkah underscores the fact that American culture has been enriched by the thriving ethnic cultures which contributed very much, each in its own way, to communal life, both materially and spiritually,” said Rabbi Zalman Fischer of the Chabad of Augusta. “[Hanukkah] has become a potent point of light and Jewish pride and confidence for American Jews in the fight against darkness and antisemitism, but also represents key American values, namely those of liberty and independence.”
Participants will also get to eat gelt – a kosher chocolate treat formed in the shape of a coin and covered in gold or silver wrapping – which will parachute down from a Columbia County fire truck ladder.
Ending the ceremony, a musical, Israel-themed performance will be presented and all attending children will receive a Hanukkah gift.
“This Hanukkah menorah lighting gathering is one of many thousands of similar gatherings taking place in communities around the world during this holiday season – sponsored by the local Chabads respectively,” according to a press release from the Chabad of Augusta.
Additional information about the Hanukkah holiday is available at https://www.chabadaugusta.org/chanukah.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education, lifestyle and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com .
