Community Corner
Photo Gallery: Public Menorah Lighting at Eton Chagrin Boulevard
Lights outside the mall and latkes inside marked the third day of Hanukkah
A steady rain didn't douse the flames leaping from the large menorah outside Eton Chagrin Boulevard on Thursday night. The lights blazed brightly, befitting given they were ignited to observe the third day of Hanukkah.
The menorah lighting at Eton Chagrin Boulevard was sponsored by Chabad of Cleveland and the Fromovitz Jewish Learning Academy. Dozens of families attended the event, which also featured free latkes, doughnuts and other snacks. Latkes, or potato pancakes, and doughnuts are Hanukkah food because they are fried in oil, a substance essential to the holiday.
Hanukkah lasts for eight days and is also known as the "festival of lights." It honors the success of the Maccebean uprising against Antiochus and Syrian-Greeks, who had taken over the Temple in Jerusalem. When the Maccabees retook the Temple, they found only a single day's supply of oil for the menorah. However, the supply lasted eight days, until more oil could be produced.