A celebration of the 5770th Hanukah

Between the 11th and the 18th of December, the Jewish community Bet Israel will be celebrating the 5770th Hanukah at their centre on Mažuranić Square. Anyone interested can participate in the organized workshops and learn about Jewish customs and culture.

Citizens of Zagreb and their guests have been invited to attend the celebration of the 5770th Hanukah, which will take place at the Bet Israel Jewish community centre, on  Mažuranić Square, between the 11th and the 18th of December. A varied program has been prepared for the occasion, beginning every day at 6 p.m. with the lighting of candles, one a day until Hanukah ends. After candle lighting, each day will feature a different event. The first day will feature a concert of Jewish songs and arias, the second day is reserved for an interesting workshop in which the visitors will have an opportunity to participate in the process of making jewellery, as well as learn the basics of painting on ceramics and painting. On the third day, there will be a promotion of the book “Childhood” by the famous Jewish writer Shmaryahu Levin, while the fourth day of Hanukah will delight children as it is reserved for workshops on modern board games such as Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, Mensch ärgere dich nicht, and the hosts will also remind the guests of the traditional game, Dreidel. There will be meetings with a rabbi, who will teach visitors about Hanukah, as well as tastings of traditional Jewish deserts, Latkes and Sufganiyah, which visitors can try making themselves. The final, eighth candle will be lit on December 18th, following which the celebrations of this year’s Hanukah will be ceremonially closed.

Hanukah is one of the biggest Jewish holidays and it is celebrated, according to the Hebrew calendar, on the 25th day of Kislev; according to the Gregorian calendar, this date occurs in mid-November or, as is the case this year, in mid-December. The holiday marks the events of year 164 B.C. when the Temple in Jerusalem was rededicated after three years of persecution and fighting. During his reign, the Hellenistic king and member of the Seleucus family, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, had banned Jewish ceremonies at the Temple, which instigated a great Jewish rebellion headed by the Maccabees. After Epiphanes’ death, the Temple was cleaned and rededicated. Corresponding with that event is the famous legend about a lamp that burned at the Temple for eight days, despite a lack of oil. This is why Hanukah has become a holiday of light, celebrated each year by the Jews, who mark it by lighting candles on eight-branched candelabra known as Hanukiahs or Menorahs.