Portland, OR. Chanukah begins Sat. night, Dec. 24, 2016 and continues through Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. Chanukkah, the Jewish festival of rededication, also known as the festival of lights, is an eight-day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. It is celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and foods. The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland has a full schedule of activities to celebrate Chanukah.

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DEC 24 2016

LATKE BALL

8:00PM – 11:59PM  

Doug Fir Lounge
830 E. Burnside Street
Portland, OR 97214

What better way to celebrate the first night of Chanukah than by throwing a community-wide dance party!

DEC 25 2016

CHANUKAH WONDERLAND

11:00AM – 4:00PM every day until December 28, 2016

Chabad Center for Jewish Life
2858 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97232

Join us for Portland’s 5th annual Chanukah Wonderland!

DEC 25 2016

P’nai Or Chanukah Party with Special Guests: Michelle Alany and the Mystics playing klezmer, sephardic and original…

DEC 26 2016

CHANUKAH WONDERLAND

11:00AM – 4:00PM every day until December 28, 2016

Chabad Center for Jewish Life
2858 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97232

Join us for Portland’s 5th annual Chanukah Wonderland!

DEC 26 2016

COMMUNITY CHANUKAH CELEBRATION- VANCOUVER

5:30PM – 7:30PM  

Esther Short Park & Hilton Hotel Vancouver
W 6th St. & Columbia St.
Downtown
Vancouver, WA 98660

Grand Menorah Lighting Ceremony & Fire Performance by Flamebuoyant Productions at Esther Short Park

DEC 27 2016

CHANUKAH WONDERLAND

11:00AM – 4:00PM every day until December 28, 2016

Chabad Center for Jewish Life
2858 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97232

Join us for Portland’s 5th annual Chanukah Wonderland!

DEC 27 2016

NEVEH SHALOM’S UGLY CHANUKAH SWEATER PARTY!

6:00PM – 8:30PM  

Congregation Neveh Shalom: Conservative
2900 SW Peaceful Lane
Portland, OR

Come one, come all and join us for the CNS annual Chanukah party. There will be a fish/dairy dinner with latkes,…

DEC 28 2016

CHANUKAH STORY TIME WITH AUTHOR ERIC KIMMEL

11:00AM – 12:00PM  

Green Bean Books
1600 NE Alberta St
Portland, OR 97211

Join PJ Library and Green Bean Books for our annual story time with local author, Eric Kimmel!

DEC 28 2016

CHANUKAH WONDERLAND

11:00AM – 4:00PM every day until December 28, 2016

Chabad Center for Jewish Life
2858 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97232

Join us for Portland’s 5th annual Chanukah Wonderland!

DEC 28 2016

LIGHT UP THE NIGHT HANUKKAH OPEN HOUSE

4:30PM – 9:00PM  

Congregation Shir Tikvah: Independent/Progressive
Services at The Bridgeport Building
7550 NE Irving Street
Portland, OR

The Ultimate Dreidel Smackdown makes a return, with other games and activities to chat over!

DEC 28 2016

JEWISH HERITAGE NIGHT @ MODA CENTER

6:00PM – 10:00PM  

Moda Center
1 N Center Ct St
Portland, OR 97227

The Portland Trail Blazers and Chabad of Oregon are excited to once again host a Jewish Heritage Night this December…

DEC 29 2016

LIGHTS, KESSER, LATKES

5:00PM – 7:00PM  

Congregation Kesser Israel: Orthodox
6698 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland, OR

Celebrate Chanukah with us and enjoy games, music, dreidel, latkes and more!

DEC 29 2016

LATKE & VODKA- CHANUKAH WOMEN’S EVENING

6:30PM – 8:30PM  

RSVP for more info

Annual Chanukah Women’s Evening: Latke Bar – Drinks- Craft- Chanukah Insights

DEC 29 2016

CHANUKAH CELEBRATION FOR ALL AGES

6:30PM – 8:30PM  

Havurah Shalom: Reconstructionist
825 NW 18th Ave
Portland, OR

Bring dreidels, chanukiot and candles, if you have them. We’ll fill the night with light, warmth and laughter!

DEC 30 2016

CHANUKAH WITH A NEW YEAR’S TWIST

5:00AM – 9:00PM  

Congregation Shaarie Torah: Conservative
920 NW 25th Avenue
Portland, OR

Share in the miracle and magic of Chanukah with a New Year’s Twist! Celebrate at Shaarie Torah for an evening of…

DEC 30 2016

COMING TOGETHER IN DARK TIMES

7:00PM – 8:30PM  

Havurah Shalom: Reconstructionist
825 NW 18th Ave
Portland, OR

Photo credits: Flash90

Chanukah is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights,” celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods.

The Hebrew word Chanukah means “dedication,” and is thus named because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple (as you’ll read below). Also spelled Hanukkah (or variations of that spelling), the Hebrew word is actually pronounced with a guttural, “kh” sound, kha-nu-kah, not tcha-new-kah.

What Chanukah Commemorates

Artist Dominic Alves captured this image of a snowy Chanukah in Brighton, UK.
Artist Dominic Alves captured this image of a snowy Chanukah in Brighton, UK.

In the second century BCE, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of mitzvah observance and belief in G‑d. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G‑d.

When they sought to light the Temple’s Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, they lit the menorah and the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.

To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah.

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