Hannukah and Christmas falls on the same day in 19 years

ABC NEWS (Australia)

For the first time in 19 years Hanukkah has fallen on the same date as Christmas day. Thousands of people from different communities are expected to gather in Melbourne city to celebrate the eight-day festival starting tonight.

Transcript

00:00Well, in case you missed it, it is Christmas Day today, but it is also the first day of

00:06Hanukkah, which is a festival of light celebrated by the Jewish community.

00:11And ARC Centre, which is a Melbourne-based community centre and synagogue, is presenting

00:15the Pillar of Light Festival, which starts off tonight at Federation Square in the heart

00:21of Melbourne.

00:22And today I'm joined by ARC Centre's Rabbi Gabby Coltman.

00:27Gabby, what is the significance of Hanukkah and what does it mean for the Jewish community?

00:32Hanukkah is a festival of light where we celebrate, over two millennia ago, the Maccabees,

00:39beating back the Hellenic Greeks that came to ancient Israel to take over, and ultimately

00:45the rededication of the Temple all those years ago, where there was a miracle of light.

00:50The lights lasted in the Temple for eight days.

00:54It's a time of family, camaraderie, getting together with community, and ultimately celebrating

01:03with good food, oily food, mind you, so donuts and latkes, lighting the candelabra, lighting

01:09up the menorah, and just spending quality time with each other.

01:13And obviously it's full and on the same day as Christmas Day today, the first day of Hanukkah,

01:17so what is the significance of that?

01:19It's incredibly special.

01:20Hanukkah is all about adding light in your life, and for Christmas to coincide with Hanukkah,

01:24well, they're two festivals that just have light at the core.

01:28We light the menorah.

01:30Who doesn't want more light in their lives right now?

01:33That's what everybody can do with a bit more light.

01:37And how will you be welcoming the celebrations tonight?

01:40Well, we're going to have a massive party for the next couple of nights in Fett Square.

01:44We'll be lighting up the four-metre menorah over here each evening, and it's really a

01:51celebration, multicultural celebration.

01:55Communities from all over Victoria will be joining us, dignitaries and leaders will be

01:59speaking, and it's really special that so many people have RSVP'd to stand together

02:05with the Jewish community at this time, and we're just so thankful that we have so much

02:09support out there, especially after what we have gone through this year.

02:14There you have it.

02:15We're celebrating Christmas Day, Hanukkah, all on the same day in the multicultural city

02:21of Australia, Melbourne.

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