Hanukkah Display Set Up in Santa Ana

Without the controversy that accompanied them three years ago, two rabbis installed a 5-foot menorah at Sasser Park in Santa Ana on Thursday in preparation for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which begins today.

The last time the ultra-Orthodox group Chabad tried to light its steel candelabrum, the ceremony was met with protests from the American Civil Liberties Union. The civil rights group said the menorah was a religious symbol and should not be displayed on public property.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July that public menorah displays were constitutional.

Hanukkah, one of the most festive of Jewish holidays, begins at sunset with the lighting of the menorah in homes and synagogues. The eight-day celebration, known as the Festival of Lights, concludes at sunset Dec. 30.

Hanukkah means “rededication,” and it commemorates the retaking and rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 165 BC, after its desecration by a Syrian king. According to the Talmud, the victorious Jews found only enough oil to light their holy lamps for one day, but it miraculously burned in the temple for eight days, until new oil could be obtained. Each day at sunset, one of the eight candles in the menorah is lighted, symbolizing the victory of the Judeans over the Syrians.

Events are scheduled countywide in the coming days to mark the Hanukkah holiday, including the ceremonial lighting of two 20-foot-high menorahs at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in Yorba Linda and Irvine. Music, food, clowns and presents for the children will be part of the twin celebrations at the Yorba Linda Habad Center, 19045 Yorba Linda Blvd. and the Irvine Habad Center, 4274 Royce Road in Irvine.

Elsewhere, menorah lightings will be staged at shopping malls across the county, including the Huntington Center Mall on Saturday, the Brea Mall and The City Shopping Center in Orange on Dec. 26, Anaheim Plaza on Dec. 27 and the Buena Park Mall on Dec. 28.

During Hanukkah, gifts are exchanged and donations made to the poor.