Hanukkah

One of the most interesting aspects of living in New York is, for sure, the cultural diversity. This cultural diversity can be seen in many aspects, and one that I find very interesting is the religious diversity.

New York has a big Jewish community, and many of my friends at school are Jewish. Last Friday the Jewish holiday Hanukkah started. Hanukkah is an 8-day holiday that celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean revolt. Basically what happened was that during this war in this Temple there was only oil to light a lamp for one day and it lasted 8 due to a miracle, until they managed to get more oil.
To celebrate this holiday, the tradition says that for the 8 days of Hanukkah one candle should be lit every day. These candles are put in those traditional Jewish candle holders that you probably have already seen somewhere, they are called Menorah.

Last Friday, I got together with some friends at Gal's house (who is Jewish) and we celebrated Hanukkah by doing our own handcrafted Menorahs (it is a tradition to do that in Israel and in other Jewish communities).
Here are the results: