Jewish community to celebrate Hanukkah with menorah lightings across Thurston County

Jews around Thurston County are preparing for the season of Chanukah, also known as Hanukkah —  with a festival of lights and traditions, celebrating what the Jewish people have overcome and a miracle.  

Rabbis and members are busy setting up giant menorahs, in this case electric candelabras that hold a light to be lit each day of the eight-day celebration, as well as gathering chocolate gelt and dreidels to be handed out to children.  

This Sunday, Dec. 14, the first night of Hanukkah, there will be a giant menorah lighting at the Heritage Park fountain, 333 5th Avenue SW, Olympia, at 4 p.m. There will be music, food, and a chocolate gelt drop from the Olympia Fire Department. 

Another lighting of a nine-foot-tall menorah will happen on Monday, Dec. 15, at Yelm City Park at 5:30 p.m., also with donuts, latkes (potato pancakes) and music.  

At the Chabad Jewish Center, Rabbi Yosf Schtroks will host an event on the second Sunday of Hanukkah, Dec. 21, with games, food and crafts. There will be a dreidel tournament and a falafel dinner. The event is open to the public and the whole community, Schtroks said, with no charge and a request to RSVP on the website so they can prepare for the number of people.  

At Temple Beth Hatfiloh, also on Dec. 21, starting at 6 p.m., there will also be a celebration to mark the end of Hanukkah. People are encouraged to bring their menorahs from home for a big communal lighting. 

“That’s just really special too. You think about one menorah and the light, so 20, 30 or 40 menorahs all lit up on the eighth night of Hanukkah this year, so lots of candles lit,” said Rabbi Seth Goldstein. There will be games, crafts, and food like latkes at the event, and each year Goldstein has been collecting more Hanukkah-themed inflatables to decorate with. Ahead of the event around 5:30 p.m. will be a Beatles revue, with Jewish parody lyrics, he said. 

Temple Beth Hatfiloh partners with the Olympia Film Society on Christmas to show a movie, a play into the cliche of Jewish people going to the movies on Christmas. It doubles as a warm clothing drive, where people are encouraged to bring coats, socks, hats and anything that may help those in need to survive the cold months. This year’s movie is "Fiddler on the Roof."  

Both events are open to the public. Goldstein said many members are partnered with non-Jewish people, so the event is for people who want to join together and have a communal celebration. Schtroks encourages anyone who wants to learn about the religion or celebrate the season with them to the Hanukkah events. He said through his religion he believes God created a diverse world with people of all backgrounds and strengths who believe different things, and it’s a goal of the Jewish people to be a light in the community and make programs and classes friendly to all. He said the Chabad Jewish Center isto be a source of education and a resource where people can come and learn. Both Jewish congregations will have security at their Hanukkah events, with the rabbis stating they take responsible measures to ensure safety.  

 Victory of light over darkness 

The season is filled with many symbolic traditions, which are a nod to the story of Hanukkah. When the ancient Greeks tried to oppress and stomp out Jewish culture, a small group stood up and reclaimed the holy temple in Jerusalem, Schtroks explained. It was restored after the damage, but the sacred candle oil, which was used in the temple was defiled and only enough for a day’s supply was left to light a hallmark piece of the ancient temples - a menorah that stayed lit at all times to symbolize the divine presence, said Goldstein. They decided to light the flame anyway, and somehow the oil kept the flame lit for eight days and nights.  

“So every year, Jewish people use this week to celebrate the very powerful messages that come out of the heart of the story about the victory of light over darkness, that even just a little bit of light can dispel a lot of darkness,” Schtroks said. “And when we stand up for what's right it can have a huge impact, even if we might feel small, but our light can push away a whole lot of darkness.” 

Jewish people now use this week to celebrate light over darkness, said Schtroks, and light one more candle each night during this time until all eight flames, plus a helper candle, are glowing. 

“And at the end of the week you look back and whoa, you've got a full lit up menorah. It can be just a small act of goodness, of kindness, of light that we can do, but that will collectively make this world a much brighter place,” Schtroks said. 

Goldstein said there’s a general image of light and hope that surrounds Hanukkah.  

“In many ways, it’s a celebration of religious freedom and independence and freedom to worship,” Goldstein added. “It’s a light-filled holiday during a dark time of year, tying in with the cycle of time and seasons. Days will soon get longer again. We’re trying to evoke light during dark times both physically and metaphorically.” 

People celebrating Hanukkah often eat oily foods during this time, like donuts and potato pancakes. These foods celebrate the fact that the Jewish people now have plenty of oil for lights and for cooking and celebrate the miracle of the light in the temple lasting for so long with such little supply.  

 Oil spreads 

The way oil spreads also is a reminder to grow and share joy, said Schtroks.  

“The idea is oil spreads. Oil rises to the top, and it's a reminder for ourselves to try to become more elevated, to try to grow. To try to share with the way oil spreads, to share the joy, to share the light with others, to always try to find our inner strength, to be a giver - whether it's giving a relationship or love or just a kind word, or the deeds or help in any way as needed,” said Schtroks. “Those things are all rolled up into the meaning of Hanukkah, the messages of Hanukkah, and it's literally baked into the food that we eat.” 

Among some of the traditions is the passing out of chocolate gelt — gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins. It signifies the sweetness of the season, Schtroks said.  

 Gelt from abovce 

This year, the Olympia Fire Department will throw out gelt from its ladder truck at the Heritage Park menorah lighting.

Children also play with dreidels, a four-sided spinning toy with Hebrew letters on each side that translate to “a great miracle happened there.” Depending on which letter faces up after a spin, the player has to give to or take from the prize pot. This comes from the Greeks outlawing Jewish culture and education, with children doing schoolwork in caves to learn about their language, religion and customs. When patrols would come around making sure no education was happening, the classes would hide their scrolls and pull out these spinning tops as if they were playing a game.  

Jewish people light menorahs in their own homes, often in a window or somewhere visible to the outside world to display the miracle, Goldstein said. The Jewish Center of Olympia has extra candles.  

 Giant menorahs 

Across Thurston County are a few giant menorahs for the public to see and witness the lighting of as well. In Olympia, these include: 

Chabad Jewish Center, Temple Beth Hatfiloh courtyard, The Evergreen State College, Heritage Park Fountain Washington State Capitol.  

Another large menorah will be lit at Yelm City Park, on Monday, Dec. 15, at 5:30 p.m.  

This year is also the first time there will be a menorah lighting in Lewis County, Schtroks said, with one being lit in Centralia this month. The lighting in downtown Olympia has been happening for almost 20 years, Schtroks said.  

Goldstein said he likes that there are a lot of holidays that happen around this season. It may be dark out during December in Washington, but there are lights twinkling around trees for Christmas and menorahs glowing in windows for Hanukkah that remind us of light and brighter times ahead.  

 “The light during the dark times is to me one of the more meaningful interpretations of Hanukkah so to be able to share that with the community and see Christmas lights and other things going up, we all have this innate sense of wanting to create light,” Goldstein said.