The city of Ypsilanti had its first ever public menorah lighting to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
On Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, Chabad House of Ann Arbor hosted a menorah lighting event for the Jewish community of Ypsilanti to celebrate the sixth night of Hanukkah. The event took place at Market Plaza in Depot Town. Alongside the menorah lighting, there were Hanukkah-themed activities and traditional Hanukkah food, including "Latkes" (potato pancakes) and "Sufganiyot" (jelly-filled donuts) for members of the community to enjoy. In addition, community members sang many traditional Hanukkah prayers and songs in both Yiddish and Hebrew.
Chanukah, also known as "The Festival of Lights," is celebrated over eight days and eight nights. This year, Hanukkah started the evening of Dec. 25, 2024 and ended Jan. 2, 2025. Dating back to the second century B.C.E., the story of Hanukkah tells of how Judah the Maccabee led a small band of Jews named The Maccabees to fight against the Greeks, who had invaded the Holy Land. The Greeks tried to force the Jews residing in the land to abandon their culture and beliefs and take up the Greeks' own culture and beliefs. The first of the miracles of Hanukkah is that the small band of Jews was able to defeat one of the mightiest armies and drive the Greeks out of the land. Once the Greeks were gone, the Jews reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and there, the second miracle of Hanukkah was performed. When the Jews went to light the Menorah in the temple, they found one small case of oil amidst all the destruction done by the Greeks. Instead of only lasting for one day, as they thought it would, the oil burned bright for eight days.
The letters on the dreidels (small spinning tops used in a game played during Hanukkah) come from the story of Hanukkah. The letters are as follows: נ Nun, ג Gimel, ה Hey, and ש Shin. The letters are short for "Nes Gadol Haya Sham," which means "a great miracle happened there."
“My heart was full as we celebrated the story of Hanukkah with pride. I felt a sense of belonging and hope with each candle lit,” said Alayna Trombley, a sophomore at Eastern Michigan University and intended writing major.
Throughout the holiday, there were many photos of public menorah lighting circulating on social media. This year, there were over 15,000 menorahs lit in an effort to showcase Jewish pride across the world.
According to nationalmenorah.org, “the annual lighting ceremony of the National Chanukah Menorah, on the Ellipse, just across from the White House, helps launch and strengthen the celebration of ‘Chanukah – Festival of Lights’ in all 50 states and over 100 countries globally.”
“It represents the community, resilience, and unwavering faith of the Jewish people in the face of unimaginable persecution. The tradition of lighting the menorah publicly means letting our light shine into the world,” Trombley said.
