Festival of Lights

Our spotlight takes us to Europe, the second stop on our Christmas tour of the continents. And a large percentage of Europeans are Jewish, and celebrate Hanukkah.

The holiday occurs on the 25th day of Kislev, according to the Jewish calendar, which occurs any time from late November to late December.

Sunday was the start of Hanukkah. A Jewish holiday that celebrates light and the eight nights the light stayed lit at the Holy Temple after it was rededicated in second century BCE.

The lighting of the menorah, known in Hebrew as the hanukiya, is the most important Hanukkah tradition. It is a...