An Oklahoma City event celebrating Hanukkah often occurs at the beginning of the eight-day Jewish holiday, but this year’s festivities will be on the fifth night of the Festival of Lights.
The Oklahoma City Community Chanukah Festival is set for 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29, at Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7. Rabbi Mendel Goldman, spiritual leader of Chabad Norman, said the festival will feature music by renowned violinist Kyle Dillingham, carnival games, foods like challah, babka, latkes and jelly donuts. Goldman said a caricature artist will show off his talent and the Oklahoma City Fire Department will shower guests with traditional chocolate coins called gelt, tiny menorahs and dreidels.
Hanukkah began at sundown on Wednesday, Dec. 25. The eight-day holiday of Hanukkah commemorates the victory of a band of Jews, the Maccabees, against Greek-Syrian occupiers in 165 B.C. and the re-dedication of their temple. When the Maccabees reclaimed the temple from their oppressors, they wanted to light the eternal light, known as the N’er Tamid, which is in every Jewish house of worship. According to tradition, once lighted, the oil lamp should never be extinguished, but the Maccabees had only enough oil for one day. During Hanukkah, Jewish families celebrate the miracle that the Maccabees’ lamp remained lit for eight days with the small amount of oil that remained.
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The rabbi said he expecting people from all over the greater Oklahoma City community to attend this year’s festival, which is being sponsored by Chabad of Norman; Chabad of Oklahoma City, where his father Rabbi Ovadia Goldman is spiritual leader; and Keller Williams.
“It’s been a beautiful festival in the past, a beautiful opportunity for people to experience something different,” he said.
Menorah lighting
Goldman said the highlight of the festival will be the lighting of a giant menorah, a type of lamp that is the most widely recognized symbol of Hanukkah.
Families gather around the menorah to commemorate the “miracle of the oil” by lighting a candle on the menorah at sundown each night of Hanukkah. Menorahs come in a variety of shapes and sizes and many Jewish individuals and families have one or more of the special lamps to observe Hanukkah, which is often called the “Festival of Light.”
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Goldman said the community festival in the park has been held on the first night of Hanukkah in years past, but organizers have typically tried to host the event at on a weekend or a time when people may have more flexibility in their schedules to participate in the festivities.
He said the event being held on the fifth night of Hanukkah this year is the perfect time to host festivities because of the meaning behind this night of the holiday.
“Traditionally, it’s been a time when people focus on family that night,” the rabbi said.
“Even for Greek Hasidic masters in history, it was the night that they would spend time with their family and give them presents. They would have a lot of beautiful gatherings then so it’s special being the fifth night.”
Mendel Goldman
Increasing light
Goldman also said having the festival in the middle of Hanukkah is symbolic.
“We start off with one candle, culminating with the lighting of eight candles,” he said. “We don’t start off lighting the whole menorah — it’s gradual.”
The gradual lighting of one candle until all are lit symbolizes that light overcoming darkness may not happen at once, but it will happen, Goldman said.
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“But, sometimes we get disappointed when we see so much darkness around us, in our personal lives, in the world, in general, and it can be disheartening,” he said.
“The message of Hanukkah is that it’s one light at a time ― not everything changes overnight, necessarily, but gradually, when we increase light in our life and we add a candle every night, we add in more acts of goodness and kindness.”
There is beauty in the process, Goldman said.
“Eventually we can look back and we look at a full, beautiful, eight-candle menorah,” he said. “We look back at our lives, and we’ll see the beautiful, godly beauty.”
Did you know?
The eight-day holiday of Hanukkah begins at sundown on Wednesday, coinciding with Christmas, the day Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas and Hanukkah have occurred on the same day four times since 1900, according to Hebcal, a website that tracks Jewish holidays and the Hebrew calendar, USA Today reported. The last time Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah occurred together was in 2005. Before that it occurred in 1959 and 1921. SOURCE: USA Today
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC festival is planned at Scissortail Park to celebrate Hanukkah
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