Happy Hanukkah To Our Friends

This is the holiday season, and at sundown tonight, Hanukkah begins, for an eight-day celebration. We would like to wish our Jewish friends and neighbors in central New York a Happy Hanukkah. Here's more about the holiday.

According to huffingtonpost.com:

"Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, is celebrated for eight days beginning at sundown on Dec. 16, 2014. On the Hebrew calendar, the dates are 25 Kislev to 2 Tevet in the year 5775.

An eight-day celebration, Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the second century B.C.E. during the Maccabean revolt against oppressive Greek rulers. Jews celebrate the holiday by lighting a nine-branch candelabrum, commonly called a menorah.

Today, Jews everywhere light menorahs on each night of Hanukkah. Traditionally, one candle or flame is lit for each night until the eighth night, when all eight lights shine together. The menorah has a ninth "helper" flame -- known as the shamash -- used to light the other candles. This is necessary because in Jewish law the Hanukkah lights' only purpose is to visually proclaim the miracle of the holiday. Jews place the lit menorah in a prominent window in order to fulfill this commandment."

Watch this brief video to learn more about Hanukkah: