Hanukkah is a time for the Jewish community to celebrate their heritage.
And Wednesday, Jewish families celebrated the final night of the 8-day holiday.
“The significance of the last day of Hanukkah is that traditionally it’s called ‘Zos Hanukkah,’ which is Hebrew for ‘This is Hanukkah.’ This is it.” said Rabbi Dovie Kivman, Chabad of Erie County. “When you light all eight candles on the menorah and Hanukkah comes to this culmination, it’s like, the light is shining the brightest.”
Kivman said when the lights shine the brightest on the menorah, it delivers a message that everyone should be an “ambassador of light” and make the world around them a little brighter.
Erie residents share their New Year’s food traditions
And Wednesday night that final candle was lit, bringing the menorah to its brightest point.
Wednesday was the eighth night of Hanukkah which meant that the final candle on the menorah would be lit. So, the middle candle is used to light all of these other candles on the menorah representing a day in the holiday, but the tradition goes back many years ago and the eight candles represent some significant history.