Eight Crazy Nights: Celebrating Chanukah In The City

Eight Crazy Nights” will be a daily feature written by some of the Jewish writers at NYU Local (also known as NYJew Local). It will last the duration of Chanukah.
If you’re still fascinated by our comprehensive retelling of Chanukah story, or if you just happen to be Jewish, the holiday begins tonight at sunday and lasts until December 9. Jewish or Gentile, celebrate the miracle of the Eternal Flame at these various events around the city:
Lighting of the World’s Largest Menorah @ 59th St. & 5th Ave. — Tonight, 5:30 PM (through Dec. 9) — Where else would the World’s Largest Menorah be? The menorah will be lit every night in Midtown every night, right before you spend the rest of the holiday in Bobst.
HillelNYU Hannukah.Toga recommended! When they say “drinking games,” we’re guessing that they mean water or grape juice. Still, you may as well put that bedsheet to another use and make streams of Animal House references.
Read More: Eight Crazy Nights: Celebrating Chanukah In The City

Eight Crazy Nights: Celebrating Chanukah In The City

Latkes, candles ... Hanukkah

ALBANY -- When you catch a whiff of the spicy tang of onions frying in oil and see the flicker of candles in darkened windows on Wednesday, you'll be reminded that Hanukkah begins at sundown.
 It's sure to produce a smile because it's a Jewish holiday that arrives with a sense of history, as well as a sense of humor.
Adam Sandler got a hit novelty song out of the festival of lights. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert like to ride it for comedic mileage.What's not to like about a holiday, coming hard on the heels of Thanksgiving, that encourages the consumption of potato latkes and jelly doughnuts, the playing of dreidel games and the giving of gifts to children?Of course, there's a serious, non-commercial side to Hanukkah and that's what Rabbi Yaakov Kelman, executive director of the Israel Center in Albany, prefers to focus on."It's really a victory of light over darkness," Kellman said.He's seen both the light and dark sides of human nature as a state prison chaplain. He'll be on duty one night of Hanukkah at the Great Meadow Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Comstock, Washington County. The holiday changes days each year based on the Hebrew calendar and it runs from Dec. 1 through 9 this year.
Read More; Latkes, candles ... Hanukkah

Latkes, candles ... Hanukkah

When Does Hanukkah Start: Happy Hanukkah To Celebrities Celebrating Hanukkah 2010!

We’d like to wish a very Happy Hanukkah to everyone who is celebrating Hanukkah 2010…including many celebrity parents! When does Hanukkah start?
Hanukkah 2010 officially starts tonight at sundown. This is the earliest that the Hanukkah calendar has started in eight years. When Hanukkah 2010 , also know as Chanukah 2010, starts tonight, it kicks off the first of an eight-night Jewish Festival of Lights.

The following celebrities will be celebrating Hanukkah 2010, so we’d like to send Happy Hanukkah wishes their way!

Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, David Arquette, Brooke Burke, Mayim Bialik, Soleil Moon Frye, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kate Hudson, and Gwyneth Paltrow, to name a few.
Read More: When Does Hanukkah Start: Happy Hanukkah To Celebrities Celebrating Hanukkah 2010!

When Does Hanukkah Start: Happy Hanukkah To Celebrities Celebrating Hanukkah 2010!

Hanukkah 2010: Which Celebrities Are Kindling the Lights?

 Adam Sandler told us in the Hanukkah Song that "so many Jews are in showbiz," but in the rush of Christmas spirit, it can be easy to forget the lowly Festival of Lights, which actually is not that big of a deal in terms of Jewish holidays, but has become so over the years to compete with the ever-present glow of the Christmas season.

Because nothing says holidays like spending way too much money on useless items, going into debt and stressing ourselves out -- and who does that better than Hollywood? -- here are just a few celebrities who will be lighting up the menorah tonight, playing a few rounds of dreidel and wolfing some latkes (potato pancakes):
Read More: Hanukkah 2010: Which Celebrities Are Kindling the Lights?

Hanukkah 2010: Which Celebrities Are Kindling the Lights?