Hanukkah menorah lighting slated for Sunday

The front steps of Town Hall will glow warm and bright during a public Hanukkah celebration at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21.

The free event is open to everyone in town, regardless of faith, according to Rabbi Moshe Bleich, founder and director of the Wellesley–Weston Chabad.

“You’ll see some members of the Jewish community and some members not from the Jewish community gathering together as we light the menorah,” said Bleich. “The holiday of Hanukkah is really the triumph, the victory of goodness over evil, of light over dark. Only a little bit of light can chase away a lot of darkness.”

The giant menorah has eight lights, one for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah. Weston’s celebration falls on the final night of the holiday, when all eight are illuminated.

Bleich has been organizing public menorah lightings in Wellesley for about 25 years. He first brought a menorah to Weston for a one-time event 15 years ago, then returned about six years ago to make the Town Hall lighting an annual tradition.

Since then, Weston’s menorah has joined more than 10,000 Chabad menorahs that go up outside city halls, town halls and other public spaces around the world, including at the Massachusetts State House and the White House, Bleich said.

The celebration is built around families and kids. Children can look forward to a “grand gelt drop,” when a Weston fire truck will help shower the crowd with chocolate coins, known as Hanukkah gelt. Fresh doughnuts — a traditional Hanukkah treat — and hot chocolate will be served.

“The world is becoming darker and darker each day, you hear these crazy things happening both in this country and also across the world,” Bleich said. “So this is a positive, peaceful, happy message to make the world a better place.”

Bleich encourages people to dress warmly and arrive on time so they don’t miss the blessings, the lighting and the gelt drop. Those who cannot attend the Weston event can find details about another menorah lighting in Wellesley, as well as more information about Hanukkah and Chabad, at wwjewish.org.

Shangcao Yuan is a student journalist at the Boston University School of Journalism.