Liberty Station Menorah Lighting Ceremony Celebrates Start of Hanukkah in San Diego

Hanukkah began at sundown on Dec. 18.

The religious holiday has a long tradition dating back thousands of years.

“How it started was 2,000 years ago when the Greeks came and desecrated the Temple and then eventually the Maccabees winning the war and getting the temple back and it came time to rekindle the Menorah, but they couldn’t find any oil to rekindle it because the oil was destroyed by the Greeks and eventually, they found one jug of oil enough to last for one day and a miracle happened, and it lasted for eight days,” Rabbi Yossi Tiefenbrun said.

Each day has a significant meaning that is celebrated.

“First night, we light one candle, the second night, we light two, so on and so forth, so for every night of Hanukkah we celebrate more joy and more happiness,” Rabbi Tiefenbrun said.

The Chabad of Pacific Beach and downtown San Diego partnered with Liberty Station to host the event that saw City Leaders and people from the community come together to celebrate.

“We light the Menorah, then we will do crafts, ice skating and then we will have a show, then we talk and hang out with each other,” Folli Tiefenbrun said.

During the celebration many people reflected on this past year and had an eye on what the future may hold.

“The future is bright. You always have to look at the glass half full and not the glass half empty. People unfortunately seem to look at the glass half empty and it’s not that way. If you change your mindset and change your ideas that you have in your head and think about the positive light in the world, your day will be better, and your life will be better,” Rabbi Tiefenbrun said.