How the Saskatoon Jewish community is celebrating Hanukkah
Sunday marked the first day of Hanukkah, also known as the festival of lights.
The eight day holiday celebrates the victory of a small Jewish army called the Maccabees and how they defeated a Syrian army that ruled over Jerusalem.
"It's a time that we think about what it means to be a Jew, when we dedicate ourselves to our faith. Hanukkah actually means dedication or rededication and spread the message of religious freedom," said Rabbi Raphael Kats, with the Chabad Jewish Centre in Saskatoon.
To celebrate that religious freedom, 25 menorah-topped cars at Meadows Market paraded though the city, travelling along 8th Street to the farmers market to light a grand menorah.
"It's important to show that you don't have to hide your faith, especially when there's haters around, there's anti-Semitism around, it's very important for the Jewish community to know that they can celebrate freely and openly," Kats said.
Menorahs, oily food and dreidels are some of the symbols that represent the holiday. The oily foods symbolize a small amount of oil that miraculously burned for eight days instead of one when the Jews rededicated a temple over 2,000 years ago.
A SENSE OF COMMUNITY
Hanukkah has a special meaning for Lauren Kronick who moved to Saskatoon from Toronto almost three years ago. Kronick says it’s the first time they're celebrating the holiday in person since living here.
"It's extra special to be in the same room with people who share your culture and religion and you can celebrate together," Kronick said.
Kronick says the sense of belonging they've gained in the Jewish community is something Hanukkah is all about.
'It's amazing to be in a room full of Jewish community members that I don't know and [have] it feel like home. It's like a home away from home since I'm not with my family right now."
For each day of Hanukkah, a new candle will be lit on the menorah until Dec. 6.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.