Hanukkah - or Chanukah as the london.gov.uk website prefers - is the eight day Jewish festival that started last Friday, marking the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabee uprising a long, long time ago. A 30 foot tall Menorah has been placed in Trafalgar Square and from 6pm tonight, there will be a special ceremony to light the nine candles on the menorah with music, a special presentation by Deputy Mayor Richard Barnes, chocolate coin distribution and traditional Jewish food for the audience.
Menorahs normally have seven candles but for Hanukkah, menorahs have nine, the ninth candle being the "helper" candle that is used to light the others. Fried food appears a lot in Hanukkah celebrations; oil is significant because of the miracle of the original Hanukkah menorah which only had enough oil for one night but managed to last eight days. So after your free misshapen vegetable lunch, eat up your latkes and doughnuts, have fun with your dreidel and we'll see you in the lamp light between the lions in Trafalgar Square for some Hanukkah fun times. L'Chaim!
Image author's own
