Photo by Jon Anderson
A menorah sits atop the Hoover Public Library sign in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.
The city of Hoover and Chabad of Alabama, a Jewish outreach organization based in Mountain Brook, are inviting the public to a menorah lighting at the Hoover Public Library on Wednesday, Dec. 17, to celebrate Hanukkah.
The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. and likely will last til 6 or 6:30 p.m., according to Chabad of Alabama. It will include a face painter, balloon twister, latkes, doughnuts, music, kids activities and more.
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, began this year on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 14, and concludes the evening of Sunday, Dec. 21. It recalls the victory of a militarily weak but spiritually strong Jewish people who defeated the Syrian-Greeks who had overrun ancient Israel and sought to impose restrictions on the Jewish way of life and practice.
The Syrian-Greeks desecrated and defiled the Holy Temple and the oil prepared for the lighting of the menorah – part of the daily service. Upon defeating their enemies and recapturing the Temple, only one jar of undefiled oil was found, enough to burn for one day, but it lasted — Jews say miraculously — for eight days. In commemoration, Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting an eight-branched candelabrum known as a menorah, adding another candle each night.
This will be the third time Chabad of Alabama has partnered with the city of Hoover for a menorah lighting, though the Hoover Public Library has had menorah lightings before.
