Hundreds of people braved a cold, rainy, blustery Monday night in Esther Short Park in Vancouver to celebrate community and more than two millennia of tradition.
The Chabad Jewish Center hosted the Hanukkah celebration. A crowd gathered to watch a troupe of fire dancers juggle flaming torches and dance with a flaming hoop. Most people came dressed for the weather, and if they were bothered, it didn’t show.
“We come every year to be with friends and community,” said Eden Stokey of Vancouver.
Hanukkah, also commonly referred to as the Festival of Lights, began this year on Saturday night. The eight-day holiday celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem during the Maccabean Revolt against the Syrian-Greeks in the 2nd century B.C.
As in years past at the downtown celebration, a large menorah was the centerpiece of the festivities. It was lit after the performances.
But before the candles began to burn, Rabbi Shmulik Greenberg of the Chabad Jewish Center told the crowd that the Menorah is not just a celebration of traditions of the past. It also offers lessons for those around the world who might be experiencing dark times.
“One candle is very small, but it has a lot of power of illumination,” which will eliminate the darkness, he said.
After the menorah was lit, people continued the celebration at the Hilton Vancouver Washington, where they could eat traditional Jewish food.
Also part of the celebration was the Message Menorah, a 10-by-6-foot, stand-alone paper structure made of hundreds of panels that people decorated with positive messages.
The menorah will be left on display at Vancouver City Hall for the duration of the holiday, which ends Sunday.
