Above / A menorah is set along the Naperville Riverwalk, prepared for the lighting the candles during the eight days of Hanukkah.
UPDATE 2019 / Hanukkah 2019 (used interchangeably with Chanukah) begins Dec. 22 and ends on Dec. 30. The eight days of Hanukkah are celebrated in the same sequence every year, though the dates vary.
Join the Chabad of Naperville for its Ice Menorah Candle Lighting, a free event at 5:30PM Thurs., Dec. 26, at the Naperville Municipal Center. During festivities folks will light the Ice Menorah and partake in hot cocoa, latkes and donuts in meeting rooms A&B in the lower level at 400 S. Eagle Street.
UPDATE 2016 / Hanukkah 2016 (used interchangeably with Chanukah) begins at sundown on Dec. 24, 2016, and ends in the evening on Jan. 1, 2017. The menorah is lighted daily in remembrance of the miracle of the lamp that burned for eight days during the rededication of Jerusalem’s temple, even though the lamp’s oil supply was too low for that to occur. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar. The eight days of Hanukkah vary every year from late November to late December.
Rabbi Mendy Goldstein has planned several events including a “Mega Chanukah Event” during the eight-day holiday, also called the Festival of Lights, 11AM-1PM on Tues., Dec. 27, 2016, hosted by Chabad of Naperville.
Every season, Rabbi Goldstein joins Chabad rabbis around the globe to to bring Chanukah to as many Jewish people as possible.
In Naperville, on the fifth day of Chanukah, a Grand Menorah Lighting at the Riverwalk is planned and will be accompanied by indoor festivities.
The public is invited at 5PM Thurs., Dec. 29, to Webster at Jackson Ave. near the Santa House for the lighting that will be followed by music and Chanukah songs inside City Hall, 400 S. Eagle Street.
The festivities also include donuts, hot Latkes, hot beverages, gelt (Chanukah gifts of money, often in the form of gold-foil-wrapped chocolate coins), dreidels and free raffle.
All are welcome to attend free of charge.
Click here for the 2016 calendar of events.
2015 Post / With Chanukah (or Hanukkah) just around the corner, Rabbi Mendy Goldstein, is preparing to celebrate the joyous festival that observes two miracles — a great Jewish military victory and a miraculous supply of oil for the Temple.
In the Jewish home, the Chanukah lights on the menorah are lit in the evenings preceding each of the eight days of Chanukah, beginning this year on Sunday night after nightfall. The Chanukah menorah holds nine candles, one for each of the eight nights and an additional candle that’s used to light the others. One candle is lighted on the first night, two on the second night, until all eight candles are lighted on the eighth night.
Above / Every evening at sunset during Hanukkah another candle will be lighted, starting at the right side, on the menorah at the Riverwalk. (PN File Photo)
For complete information about upcoming holiday events, visit www.chabad.org. Click here for The-Story-of-Chanukah.
Above / Placed with care by the Naperville Park District, our city celebrates local traditions during the holidays along the Riverwalk. (PN File Photo)
During the eight days of Chanukah, at sunset another candle will be illuminated on the menorah along the Naperville Riverwalk, featured among a large glowing holiday tree and an illuminated Nativity scene near the Santa House, all welcoming families to share the joys of the season.
Editor’s Note: Chanukah is also spelled Hanukkah and both spellings mean the same thing. According to multiple word searches, both spellings are correct and some writers suggest using them interchangeably. The word Hanukkah begins with a Hebrew sound (like the German “ch” in Johann Bach) that does not exist in the English language. In American English, the word was commonly misread, so Americans began spelling it with an “H” instead of the “CH,” the closest to the Hebrew sound.
