This evening marks the first night of Hanukkah for Jewish communities around the world.

This evening marks the first night of Hanukkah for Jewish communities around the world.🕯🕯🕯

Did you know? In comparison to the major holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Hanukkah is a minor religious festival. In the 19th century however, both Hanukkah and Christmas saw a rise in popularity in the United States. Today, Hanukkah is one of the best-known Jewish holidays in America.

Although Jews have been in America for hundreds of years, the first public display of a menorah didn’t occur until Hannukah 1974. On a cold evening in Philadelphia, Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, with the help of yeshivah students, lit a simple menorah in front of Independence Hall. Since that night, menorahs have become a common sight on town greens and in public squares across the country and around the world.

Hanukkah holds not only a special religious meaning for Jewish-Americans, but a cultural meaning as well. For many American Jews, a religious minority in the U.S., Hanukkah celebrations represented a dedication to Judaism. They simultaneously distinguished Jewish Americans from their Christmas-celebrating neighbors while also giving them a commonality of festive, gift-giving winter holidays.

Tobacco Still Life with Candle, Georg Flegel, 1631

-Written by Anna Zemaitaitis, Communications and Design Officer