Monday, December 6, 2010

Celebrating Hannukah

The eight day Jewish festival of Hanukkah begins on December 1 in 2010.

In Fairfield, Connecticut, locals celebrate their second public menorah lighting. The first ceremony last year was marred by Neo-Nazis.

In West Bloomfield, Michigan, Temple Israel's No Temple Without Chanukah program aids needy families during the holiday.

At the White House, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle hosted a Hanukkah ceremony in East Room. The ceremony featured a menorah lent by a congregation in New Orleans that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Meanwhile, a new Hanukkah song has entered American popular culture. The Maccabeats are an accapella group from New York's Yeshiva University. Their Hanukkah tribute titled "Candelight" is sung to the pop song "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz and has become a YouTube sensation.

Lastly, NPR traces the origin of American Hanukkah celebrations back to the work of two Cincinnati rabbis in the late 19th century.

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