Chanukah Lightings to Take Place in State Capitols Across United States

A father and son share a moment in front of a giant menorah at the Minnesota State House after a lighting ceremony coordinated by Chabad-Lubavitch.

Chanukah will formally be welcomed in Utah this year during a Sunday evening ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion, where Gov. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., and his wife are expected to join Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Benny and Sharonne Zippel in lighting a menorah.

Emphasizing that the message of Chanukah should be spread among all corners of the globe, Zippel asserted that “a little bit of light dispels much darkness.”

“This message is of crucial importance particularly this year after the world has witnessed such acts of brutality and violence as what happened in India and elsewhere,” added the rabbi, who serves as co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Utah.

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The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, advocated for public menorah lightings in as many places as possible. Since 1974, when Philadelphia's Lubavitch House held a menorah lighting in front of Independence Hall, Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries have annually hosted grand public menorah lightings in locations throughout the world.

In the United States, Chanukah menorah lightings are also expected to take place at the state capitols of Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming. Although Chanukah doesn’t begin until Sunday night, celebrations in honor of the eight-day holiday will take place this week in the capitols of New York and California, where the legislatures will be on recess through next week.

For a full listing of Chanukah events in your area and detailed information about the holiday, click here.