Cranberry Township welcomes friends and supporters representing every faith and corner of the region in a celebration of the final night of the eight-day observance of Hanukkah. All are welcome to attend a menorah lighting in front of the Township’s Municipal Center on December 22.
It is the seventh year for the privately underwritten event which is hosted by the Township. In addition to the lighting celebration, the event features traditional foods, games and music starting at 5 p.m.
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C. It celebrates the successful revolt by Jewish Maccabee rebels against the forces of Antiochus IV, whose army had trashed the Temple.
Once the invaders had been driven out, the Maccabees discovered that almost all the Temple’s ritual olive oil had been defiled, finding only a single container still sealed by the High Priest. Although it only contained enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day, it burned for eight days.