Jewish Festival of Lights begins

MARBLEHEAD – On Tuesday afternoon, while some children continued their countdown to Santa Claus?s arrival, 30 children from the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore in Marblehead began the countdown of the eight nights of Hanukkah by lighting the first candle on the menorah.The children, parents, JCC staff and executives gathered in the center?s lobby at 3:30 p.m. to sing Hanukkah songs and hear stories of the Festival of Lights holidays.?The beauty of the Jewish calendar is that there?s always something to celebrate our Jewishness,” said Executive Director Bob Verdum.Hanukkah is a small holiday in the Jewish faith that celebrates the victory of the Israeli Mackabees over the Romans around 160 B.C.E., and the miracle that took place when there was only enough oil to light their temple for one day after it had been sacked. Instead, the small amount of oil ended up lasting for eight days. To remember the miracle, for each of the eight days of Hanukkah, Jews light one candle from a special kind of candlelabra called a menorah until all of the candles are lit.?It?s not a big holiday,” said lobby desk receptionist Andrea Mann. “People think it?s big because it falls near Christmas.” Mann added that the tradition of giving gifts for Hanukkah is very much a result of commercialization.Leading the 15-minute event was Rabbi Aaron Fine from Temple Sinai, a next-door neighboring facility. “It?s mainly a day to celebrate being with family,” said Fine, explaining that the holiday is really about light against the darkness like other popular holidays during the season.He lit one “candle” on the electronically powered, giant-sized menorah in the lobby and asked the children about the significance of the holiday and its traditions. “Each of you is a candle in God?s menorah,” said Fine to the children. “Share your light by being happy and friendly with people.”Another Hanukkah tradition that Fine talked about was the act of eating foods fried in oil like latkes, which are Jewish potato pancakes.The kids sang songs both in Hebrew and English, and danced to the songs by pretending they were candles. Marla Mindel, Early Childhood administrative assistant, sang “The Dreidel Song” to teach the children about the Hanukkah game, and gave out Jewish chocolate coins called “gelt” at the end.?We like to get our JCC families together for a learning opportunity,” said Mindel.The JCC is also holding a special event on Christmas Day to offer something for all families of every faith. The facility will be open Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will offer group exercise classes in addition to a family swim in the pool and family dodgeball and basketball from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. At noon there will be an all-you-can-eat vegetarian Chinese food buffet, followed by the Disney movie, “Full Court Miracle.” The event admission is $5.Event Coordinator Philip Mann said the JCC does the Christmas event every year because “not many things are open on that day. The big joke is ?what does a Jew do on Christmas?? On Christmas Day, everything is closed, but the JCC is open.”