Celebrate Hanukkah at Barrie City Hall with a Menorah lighting ceremony

A Menorah lighting ceremony in Ontario. CTV NEWS

Barrie’s Chabad Jewish Centre will light a public 12-foot menorah at city hall, followed by a community celebration on Monday, December 15, the second night of Hanukkah.

“This year we are doing more to celebrate Hanukkah with joy and Jewish pride,” said Rabbi Mendel.

“Together, with the City of Barrie, we will be inaugurating a new 12-foot Menorah that will be displayed at the waterfront every Hanukkah. The Menorah and Hanukkah represent freedom from tyranny and oppression, and the victory of good over evil.”

The ceremony will feature a menorah lighting and array of entertainment for all ages including the famed ‘Gelt drop’ by Barrie Fire, kids’ entertainment show and crafts, holiday music, as well as hot drinks and a selection of traditional Hanukkah foods such as latkes and sufganiyut.

“Celebrating Hanukkah is a potent point of light, Jewish pride and confidence for Canadian Jews,” added Rabbi Mendel. “… when we all add more light by increasing in acts and goodness and kindness, we usher in the Messianic era of peace, harmony and goodness.”

This year’s Hanukkah campaign will be one of unprecedented light and joy, seeing Chabad reach more than eight million Jews in more than 100 countries.

Barrie’s menorah is one of over 15,000 large public menorahs throughout the world, including notable menorahs in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the Great Wall of China, and Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate.