This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
12/10/2024 10:33 AMOn Dec. 26, Old Saybrook will host a second annual menorah lighting at 5 p.m. on the Town Green to celebrate the start of Hannukah.
Elizabeth Meyer, one of the organizers of the event, said that the town-wide event will only take place on Thursday, Dec. 26 this year.
“We will light the menorah every night of Hannukah, but the event is just the 26th.”
Meyer noted that since Hanukkah starts on Christmas this year and people of all faiths tend to stay home and lay low, the Old Saybrook menorah lighting on Dec. 26 will actually be the second night of Hannukah. Meyer said that the celebration on the Green will have free cider and donuts, too.
Hanukkah, sometimes called the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day celebration commemorating the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem where, according to traditional accounts, Jews rose up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors who had outlawed the religion. The lighting of the menorah symbolizes the miracle of the candles lit for the re-dedication burning for eight nights despite there only being enough oil for one night. Traditionally, the holiday is celebrated with food, games, and gifts in addition to lighting the menorah on each night.
The town held a menorah lighting last year for the first time, which Meyer said was a success.
“We had had about 100 people there, which is a really good turnout, and we’re hoping for a big turnout again,” Meyer said.
While tree lightings in celebration of Christmas are popular in Old Saybrook as well as most surrounding towns, Meyer said the only area town she knew of that did a menorah lighting was Guilford. Other shoreline towns doing menorah lightings in 2024 include Branford, North Haven, and New Haven. Meyer said there were attendees from the other towns close to Old Saybrook at the lighting last year.
“Last year, we had a lot of people come from Old Lyme and Essex and say, ‘I wanted to do this in our town too,’” Meyer said.
For Meyer, part of her impetus for getting the event started in 2023 was to get the town to recognize the other holidays in addition to Christmas. The event also took on new meaning after the events of Oct. 7, 2023, in Israel and the rise of antisemitism in the wake of the Israel and Palestine conflict, Meyer said.
“I think it’s important to have it as an educational moment and for communities to recognize all holidays,” said Meyer.
Meyer first got the idea to start a menorah lighting in 2022 when she was driving in West Haven, and something caught her eye.
“I saw they had a big menorah lit up on their Green, and it stirred something in me. I don’t know how many Jewish families there are in West Haven, but I know we have over 70 in Old Saybrook," Meyer told the Harbor News last year.
In 2023, Meyer went to the town and got permission to host the event from the town. Meyer said that Chabad of the Shoreline procured and installed the menorah.