Chanukah, the Jewish winter festival, started yesterday with the lighting of the first candle. This year the festival coincides with the Christmas week.
During the festival candles are lighted during eight days in memory of the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE after a battle for freedom of religion and national independence.
According to legend a miracle happened in the temple and a small urn of olive oil to light the menorah lasted for eight days.
Today Chanukah is one of the most joyous holidays in Jewish culture, celebrated by religious and secular people alike, commemorating the triumph of light over darkness and expressing hope for a better future.
In Brussels, a Chanukah reception was held last week at the headquarters of the European Commission in celebration of the diversity of the European Union.
Vice-president Vera Jourova, responsible for Values and Equality, lit a symbolic candle in honour of the 71st anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Brussels Times
