STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
A Chanukah Celebration and Menorah Lighting Ceremony will be held from 5 to 6 tonight—Sunday, Nov. 28--at Ketchum Town Square.
The gathering, sponsored by Chabad of Idaho, is free and open to the public and will include dignitaries and the lighting of a large candelabrum or menorah.
Chanukah, which is often celebrated closer to Christmas in modern times, came early this year—during Thanksgiving Weekend. In fact, Thanksgivukkah is the name some give to the convergence of the American holiday of Thanksgiving and the first day and second night of the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, which took place this year on Thanksgiving Day.
The timing of Hanukkah is based on the Hebrew calendar, which is a lunar one based on the cycles of the moon.
The observance, also known as the Festival of Lights, commemorates the recovery of Jerusalem and the rededication of the Second Temple after the Jews rose up against Greek -Syrian invaders in the second century B.C.
The eight-day observance will end on Dec. 6