STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 18
LIGHT and HOPE:
Hanukkah and Kwanzaa bring families together for joyful traditions
Hanukkah and Kwanzaa: bright holidays filled with family, feasts, singing, dancing, light and joy. Although the two holidays may not get as much attention as Christmas, many people enjoy celebrating both of them.
The two holidays fall at varying times throughout the month of December and January. This year’ s Hanukkah celebration begins at sundown Friday,
Dec. 4 and ends at sundown Saturday, Dec. 12. Kwanzaa is an annual week-long celebration which lasts from Dec. 26-Jan 1.
‘ Come light the menorah’
“ The Hanukkah story is important not just for the ways it is celebrated today but for its history,” said Cheryl Payne, a Stillwater resident who observes Jewish holidays.“ Hanukkah actually means‘ to dedicate.’” The Hanukkah story began after the desecration of the Jewish temple and the effort by Antiochus Epiphanes
STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 18