Barrie's Jewish community celebrates Hanukkah brightly with 10-foot menorah

Barrie residents will see  a surge in Hanukkah public displays of the holiday and Jewish identity, with many more families and individuals planning to light their menorahs in visible places, such as their doors or windows.

Chabad Jewish Centre of Barrie will light a 10-foot menorah at 431 Huronia Road Unit 3, followed by a community celebration on Wednesday, the 1st night of Hanukkah.

"At this fraught time for the Jewish community, with war in Israel and Jews facing a major rise in antisemitism, this year we are doing more to celebrate Hanukkah with joy and Jewish pride,” said Rabbi Mendel.

“The Menorah and Hanukkah represent freedom of the human spirit, freedom from tyranny and oppression, and of the victory of good over evil,” he said.

The ceremony will feature a menorah lighting and an array of entertainment for all ages including an entertainment show for kids, holiday music as well as hot drinks and a selection of traditional Hanukkah foods.

This year’s celebrations carry added significance as they mark 50 years since the first public menorah which was lit at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia in 1974.

Barrie's menorah is one of over 15,000 large public menorahs throughout the world, including notable menorahs in front of the White House, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the Great Wall of China, and Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate.

This year’s Hanukkah campaign will reach more than eight-million Jews in more than 100 countries.

Throughout the country, Chabad-Lubavitch will present dozens of Hanukkah events and celebrations, including public menorah lightings, ice menorah displays, car-top menorah parades, community gatherings, giant dreidel houses, Chanukah Wonderlands and more.

“Celebrating Hanukkah is a potent point of light, Jewish pride and confidence for Canadian Jews in the fight against darkness and antisemitism,” said Rabbi Mendel Nakkar. "The celebration of Hanukkah underscores the God endowed liberty that is at the heart of what Canada represents.”