A Hanukkah fest has been celebrated in Kathmandu at the residence of Ambassador of Israel to Nepal today December 23, 2022.
Ambassador of Israel to Nepal Hanan Goder Goldberger shed light on the history, and cultural importance of Hanukkah among the Jewish community.
Distinguished people from various walks-of-life were presented at the event.
Known as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah is a Jewish festival that reaffirms the ideals of Judaism and commemorates in particular the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem by the lighting of candles on each day of the festival which is one of the most popular and widely celebrated Jewish carnival.
Hanukkah is an eight-day “festival of lights,” celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods begins on the eve of Kislev 25.
This year Hanukkah starts on Sunday, December 18, and ends Monday, December 26.
Although it is traditionally a fairly minor religious holiday, Hanukkah grew popular in the 20th century due to its proximity to Christmas.
For eight nights, candles are lit in a menorah, a candelabrum with spaces for nine candles—one for each night plus a “servant” candle called the shamash (shammes in Yiddish). On each successive night, one more candle is added and lit.
According to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Hanukkah is about the freedom to be true to what we believe without denying the freedom of those who believe otherwise.
All the Jewish households commemorate this historic event by lighting candles on a menorah, reciting prayers, and eating foods fried in oil along with exchanging gifts to commemorate the miracle in the Temple more than 2,000 years ago.
History denotes, then the Maccabees (a group of Jewish rebels) led by a man named Judah, drove their oppressors out of Jerusalem, and lit a candelabrum within the temple that burned for eight nights — even though there was only enough oil to last for one.
Hanukkah is a winter holiday of lights marking a national holiday not only in Israel but celebrated worldwide by the Jewish community.
Hanukkah means the end to a year-long wait for doughnuts. “The jelly doughnut came into the Hanukkah celebration as the sufganiyot about 100 years ago in the 1920s,”
Israeli politicians use the candle lighting ceremony as an opportunity to press the flesh, mend fences and, of course, have their pictures take
Throughout the eight nights of Hanukkah, the Jerusalem streets are lined with glowing boxes that banish the mid-winter darkness, for all to enjoy.
Happy Hanukkah Festival!!!
