Hanukkah begins this Sunday, Dec. 22 at sundown
EL PASO, Texas - Chabad Lubavitch is preparing to celebrate Hanukkah and invites El Paso's Jewish community to join in the celebration. The Chabad is holding a ceremony to mark the first night of Hanukkah this Sunday at 5 p.m. at 6615 Westwind Drive in West El Paso.
Hannukah is a Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. It is also known as the Festival of Lights.
Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, called a menorah (or hanukkiah). One branch is typically placed above or below the others and its candle is used to light the other eight candles. This unique candle is called the shamash -Hebrew for "attendant". Each night, one additional candle is lit by the shamash until all eight candles are lit together on the final night of the festival. Other Hanukkah festivities include playing the game of dreidel and eating oil-based foods, such as latkes and sufganiyot, and dairy foods.
