HOWELL – The third annual menorah lighting was held as part of a township-wide series of holiday events.
Around a few dozen celebrants gathered at the municipal building off Route 9 to celebrate their shared culture. Three of the candles on the menorah were lit as the event took place on the third day of Hanukkah.
This serves as a continuation of the township’s holiday events, as they held the annual Christmas tree lighting earlier in the month. The Christmas tree and the menorah stand lit side by side near the entrance to the town hall.
The menorah lighting featured several events for the children who attended the event, including a dreidel guessing game where participants had to guess how many dreidels were in a jar, and other arts and crafts games. One of these games had the kids draw on a wooden plank that was made to look like a menorah. However, the game that seemed to be the biggest hit among the event goers was the gelt toss.
During the gelt toss, one of the rabbis who helped organize the event was up in an aerial ladder on a fire truck. From there, he tossed chocolate gelt to the children waiting on the ground below. Eight of these gelt had numbers on them. If one of the children picked up a gelt with a number on it, they would get a prize that corresponds to that number. Over 300 chocolate gelt were tossed to the children waiting below.
While all of the games were going on, there was a DJ who was playing Hanukkah-themed music. Several times throughout the event, a large crowd would gather in front of the DJ to dance to the music.
The lighting of the menorah was preceded by several speakers. One of those speakers was Councilwoman Evelyn O’Donnell, who said a few words to honor the holiday. She was followed by Rabbi Shmuel Naparstek from the Chabad of Jackson, who uttered a prayer and a statement about perseverance during today’s trying times as the menorah was lit. Once the menorah was lit, the crowd erupted in cheers.
While braving the outdoors, event attendees were treated to coffee, hot chocolate, and an assortment of pastries, which were provided by a few of the organizers of the event. In addition, free Hanukkah-themed winter hats were given out at the lighting to help keep people warm.
Steven Fecher, Howell Townships Director of Community Relations, spoke about what hosting an event like this means to him and the community as a whole.
“We just want to make everyone feel welcome, all of the residents, we want them to feel welcome. We want Howell to be an inviting place to live, to visit, to stay…. It is a time for everyone to come together, enjoy the holidays, and to just be with one another.”
