National Menorah To Be Lit Today in D.C.
Image by Getty Images
The National Menorah will be lit near the White House on Sunday for Hanukkah, in a celebration that features the U.S. Navy Band and is one of the most high-profile events in the country to mark the Jewish holiday.
The eight-day Hanukkah celebration, also known as the Festival of Lights, starts at sundown on Saturday.
The lighting of the National Menorah in Washington, on the Ellipse near the White House, dates back to 1979 when then-President Jimmy Carter participated in the ceremony at nearby Lafayette Park.
The event is organized by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Hasidic Judaism, and will include a performance by the U.S. Navy Band and servings of hot potato pancakes, or latkes, and doughnuts.
The lighting of the National Menorah will take place at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
President Barack Obama said on Friday in a statement that Hanukkah was “a time to celebrate the faith and customs of the Jewish people” but also “an opportunity for people of all faiths to recognize the common aspirations we share.”
Obama and his family presided over the lighting of the National Christmas Tree on Thursday near the White House.
Jewish communities across the United States are set to celebrate Hanukkah with a variety of public events.
In New York, the third night of the Festival of Lights will be the occasion for a unique party, in the form of a Hanukkah on Ice event on Monday at Trump Wollman Rink in Central Park, where participants will strap on their skates, eat free kosher food and listen to Jewish music.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will participate in the lighting of a 15-foot menorah at an entertainment district in the city on Sunday evening.
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the 2nd century BC victory of Judah Maccabee and his followers in a guerrilla revolt in ancient Judea against armies of the Seleucid Empire.
The Menorah is a key part of the festival, because according to Jewish tradition, the Maccabees found only enough ritually pure oil to light a ceremonial lamb in the temple in Jerusalem for one day, but the oil burned for eight days. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Greg McCune and Peter Cooney)
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward Survivors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7 embrace at Auschwitz, marking annual March of the Living
-
Fast Forward Could changes at the FDA call the kosher status of milk into question? Many are asking.
-
Fast Forward Long Island synagogue cancels Ben-Gvir talk amid wide tensions over whether to host him
-
Fast Forward Trump mandates universities to report foreign funding, a demand of pro-Israel groups
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
- 4
Opinion Yes, the attack on Gov. Shapiro was antisemitic. Here’s what the left should learn from it
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Survivors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7 embrace at Auschwitz, marking annual March of the Living
-
Fast Forward Could changes at the FDA call the kosher status of milk into question? Many are asking.
-
Fast Forward Long Island synagogue cancels Ben-Gvir talk amid wide tensions over whether to host him
-
Fast Forward Trump mandates universities to report foreign funding, a demand of pro-Israel groups
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.