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Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew, second from right, is assisted by Rabbi Levi Shemtov, second from left, and Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, right, as they light the National Hanukkah Menorah during a ceremony on The Ellipse in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011 marking the first night of Hanukkah.
By msnbc.com staff
Jews around the world on Tuesday night began celebrating Hanukkah, the eight-day Festival of Llights.
It has nothing to do with Christmas, it's just celebrated around the same time.
Known as the Festival of Lights, it's to remember another miracle which dates back thousands of years.
Hanukkah began after a war for religious freedom between the Jewish people and the Greeks.
The small Jewish army won but not after their temple was defiled, leaving just a small can of oil that also miraculously provided eight days of light.
Rabbi Kalman Winnick of Congregation Agudath Achim in Little Rock, Ark., told NBC station KARK, "To this day we remember the miracle of the oil as well as the miracle of the few defeating the mighty, as well as the miracle of people caring enough about their faith to struggle for it.”
Around the world, as sunset arrived, Jews in their homes and in community-wide ceremonies lit the first candle on menorahs, the nine-candle holders used for lighting first a special candle, and using that candle to light a candle noting each night of the holiday.
In Washington, D.C., Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew helped lead the lighting of the National Hanukkah Menorah at The Ellipse. Similar ceremonies were held at Trafalgar Square in London and Jerusalem, Israel.
Luke Macgregor / Reuters
Crowd members join in for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah in Trafalgar Square in London, Dec. 20, 2011.
Mehdi Fedouach / AFP - Getty Images
A giant screen shows an image of Lubavitcher Rabbi Menahem Mendel Schneerson during the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, on December 20, 2011 at the Champs de Mars in Paris.
Odd Andersen / AFP - Getty Images
Rabbis Yehuda Teichtal (R) and Shmuel Segal of the Jewish education centre inaugurate the Chanukkah lights in front of Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Dec. 20, 2011.
Bela Szandelszky / AP
Members of Hungary's Orthodox Jewish community dance on the street while celebrating the beginning of the Hanukkah Festival in downtown Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011.
Abir Sultan / EPA
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish family as they lights a candle for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood, Israel, Dec. 20, 2011.
Abir Sultan / EPA
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man lights the candles outside his house during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood, Israel, Dec. 20, 2011.
Previous images of Hanukkah on PhotoBlog.
Leave a Comment:
Organized religion will be the demise of mankind.
Or pointless defamation.
Marlen,
The Salvationists are organized, and each member has individually helped more people than you ever will. And, there are many more.
What do you do to help mankind? Post on bulletin boards, and piss on those that do help?
BTW----I am a free-thinker, who tries to lead his life by Judeo-Christian principles. Have a better formula for "helping mankind", and being a good citizen?
FANTASTIC!
Is it possible to show Jews other than the Orthodox celebrating Chanukah? They are not the only Jews in the world and not the only ones celebrating. Conservative and Reform members of Judaism celebrate Chanukah as well.
Actually, it's the Lubavitcher Chasidim who are publicly celebrating Hanukkah and are putting up these huge chanukios around the world.
wow. this image is so staged...very fake
Most of the world population don't care about this celebration, only Israel, the Jewish people and its puppies, the US, the UK and the West in general would give this event a bigger importance that what it really has.
I find this interesting as only 1.7% of Americans are Jewish and celebrate Hanukkah, and this is a very minor holiday for them. Seriously, why all the fanfare and media coverage?
Simply put, it's to minimize Christmas. Which by the way is celebrated by 93% of the country. Very frustrating.
Dear Jason-Davis, Jesus was born a Jew and died a Jew. That 93% of the country you talk about are simply a sect of Judiaism. Merry Christmas J-D.
I don't think that's the case at all. Why would anyone celebrating Christmas feel threatened by Chanukah?
Doesn't make sense, J-D.
To everyone celebrating it, Happy Chanukah. Enjoy! Have fun.
I have my reservations about them trying to lure Christian children.
Ever heard of blood libel?
Yeah, that's what's it's all about... Jews trying to lure the hapless Christians away from Christ.
Get a life, you frigging monkey. If god had half a brain, he'd have made you and your whole bloodline extinct a long time ago.
Pathetic little sheep. You deserve your obesity, diabetes and cancer. Just do the world a favor and die a little bit faster. Along with your tailed kin.
Everyone feels bad about the holocaust. That's why we blow up Hannuka into a really big deal (I have no clue how to spell it). But anyways I'm fine with MSNBC doing a story on Hannuka. It is the first day after all, and I'm sure they'll do the same on Christmas.
Jason- Are you kidding me? Like Al said Jesus was Jewish. This fake war on Christmas is getting old. There will be hundreds of stories about Christmas, heck we have already had many here in Co. Happy Hanukkah!
Why all the fanfare and media coverage? Because of a small concept called "fairness."
Your ignorance is showing. It's never a bad thing to put different religions into the light to learn more about them.
Shalom my friends, from a gentile to my Hebrew brothers. I know this is not one of the major holidays in your religion, but any cause to celebrate is a good thing.
Menorah? Menorah? I think what they meant to say was "Holiday lamp"! Man, I am sooo offended. Somebody call the ACLU I wanna sue!!!!
Whatever....
The symbolism of this is quite fantastic!
I don't think Hanukkah takes anything away from the 93%...there is something quite special to learn from every diverse culture on the planet! Open-minded, good-hearted people absolutely understand that fact!
Are Americans by-and-large, too dumbed-down to even conceive of an idea like,"Goodwill to all men," and let me not forget to include "all women!" For those who are Christians spewing this vile, need I ask you all what has happened to the spirit of Christmas?...something that I used to cherish as a child growing up in America! It seems that I don't have to search beyond some of the disgusting things posted here to get my answer!!?
The spirit and the magic of Christmas has been diluted and dissolved by Happy Holidays, holiday trees, holiday ornaments, holiday parties, winter break, 'this holiday', etc.
I used to cherish it as well. It was something to identify with. Now it is nothing but a washed out 'equally miserable' time of year diluted in the name of diversity.
Merry Christmas!
Menorah's technically only have 7 candles (six with starter). The 8/9 candled "holiday lamps" (lol) are actually candelabras.
No, honey, they are Chaunukias. You are right. Menorahs don't have 8/9. The real Menorah was in the temple which we don't have anymore.
Candelabras are what you buy in any store at any time with no specific number of candles.
I wish you a Merry Christmas but rather getting upset at 1.7% of people who celebrate Chaunukah why don't you hold the 93% who celebrate Christmas responsible for the washing out of the holiday. I don't know of any Jews who have a problem with Christmas being a Christian holiday. It seems only the Christians do.
OMG, they are attacking Christmas!
The orthodox irk me, not the Jews in general,(I do not judge by religion)just the orthodox, they feel so entitled, they feel the community should support them.
They are like the Amish except on on welfare . LMAO.
How do I think of these things. Happy Hannuka!!
I'm Orthodox. My husband and I both work. We both pay taxes. AND we pay a crapload in insurance. My friend are all orthodox. My siblings are orthodox. My in-laws are orthodox. My neighbors are orthodox. We all work. We all pay taxes. We all pay insurance. Stop being a hater. Stop be close-minded.
@ Devorah; Do you live in Israel? I am not being a hater, the orthodox of Israel feel entitled, and alot of times are the ones to cause flareups between the Isrealites and the Palestinians.
If you do not live in Israel this is not pointed at you. I should have said ultra ortodox..
@ Devorah; Oh, and I hate no one. although I will call a people out on their ways,if it is the truth,(including my own) even if the truth hurts. If this article was more popular I would be getting a lashing right now, but I am armed with facts and information on the Ultra Orthodox, that will show how right I am, if someone callls me out.
You put your point out eloquently, without "baseless" insult, and gave me pause that I should have said ultra.
I will rail against all trouble making, society sucking peoples,no matter whom they are. People who feel this world owes them something in the name of religon are kidding themselves.Hmm who fits that definition.lol
"It is much better to give than recieve"
You realize, Coral Taxi, that the fact that Christmas is the only religious holiday that is turned into a national holiday shows that Christians have been able to push their religion onto the world, even those who don't want to celebrate it. Christians expect everyone to recognize the holidays, yet a large plurality of them refuse to admit that there are other holidays and holy days that other faiths celebrate and/or observe.
@ Micheal;
You could also say that Christianity is the most accepted(why does it have to be force and not acceptance?) religion on earth, you do not push Christ onto people,you share the word of Christ, they accept him of their own freewill,or they do not,it is a personal thing. What you are saying is that people are mindless and go with the popular option, I would give the people of America more credit than that.
Can these possibly be the same fundamentalist kreeps who keep body parts in the freezer, beat up on women and kids, practice apartheid and class warfare? They look so cuddly and sincere. So believable.
Yep, Jews kill children (per your blood libel comment), keep their body parts in their freezer, etc., etc. Laudanum, go back to sleep. I think you've mistaken Jews for Jeffrey Dahmer.
"A giant screen with the Eiffel tower in the background shows Menahem Mendel Schneerson Rabbi of Lubavitch live from Jerusalem, during the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, on December 20, 2011 at the Champs de Mars in Paris." Ummm..... Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Rebbe, has been dead since 1994. And he never traveled to Israel in his life.
Nice pictures though!
@ appletree; Good catch, this is akin to the birds that were not indigenous to the golf course, that the t.v channel was pluggging them in on.lol, ie the bird noise was fake.
a Hanukkah miracle!!!!
AppleTrees, some of the Lubavitcher Chasidim think that Rabbi Schneerson is the messiah and expect him to rise from the dead sometime soon. If you're a Christian, this concept should sound familiar to you.
"A giant screen with the Eiffel tower in the background shows Menahem Mendel Schneerson Rabbi of Lubavitch live from Jerusalem, during the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, on December 20, 2011 at the Champs de Mars in Paris." Ummm..... Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Rebbe, has been dead since 1994. And he never traveled to Israel in his life.
Nice pictures though!
Nice......"Festival of Llights" in the first line of the article.
Pardon me, writers and editors, but if you did step one of your research, you'd know that The Lubavitcher Rebbe (Of Blessed Memory) passed on in June of 1994.
Yes, that is so, but there is a very large group of Lubavitcher Chasidim who think that Rabbi Schneerson (z"l) is the Messiah and are awaiting his return to this earth. I'm not saying it's true or not true, I'm merely stating that this is what they believe.
They look like they are having fun, good for them. I remember as a child, we had a Jewish man that owned a clothing store. My Dad would wake me up early, so we could be the first customer. My Dad always said his first customer could always get a deal. I always wonder if that was true. As a kid I never gave it any attention.
The national menorah looks tacky...
meh...what are you going to do ?
Those 2 young Hassidic guys with the purple menorah in the back ground look like they lit more than just candles!
Steve- I agree, the Manischewitz is flowing, apparently down their throats! LOL Happy Hanukkah to all our Jewish friends around the world!
They look bored.