The annual Menorah Lighting on the Middlebury Green will be held Sunday, November 28, 2021, at 4:00 pm as the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins.
The entire Middlebury community is invited to this holiday celebration. The lighting ceremony was established by the Middlebury Congregational Church, which owns the Green, and Westover School, whose maintenance staff sets up the menorah, as a gift to their Jewish neighbors. This annual event reflects many years of cooperation by the church, Westover, and the town. This tradition of the menorah on the Middlebury Green was established in 1997 by the Reverend Dennis Calhoun and Selectman Elaine Strobel.
The Middlebury menorah lighting ceremony includes the traditional Hanukkah blessings and the song Rock of Ages. Those in attendance will be invited to take the responsibility to light the menorah on the following nights. For more information, call 203.577.4513.
The story of Hanukkah dates back to 165 years before the birth of Jesus. The Jews, under the control of a Syrian regime led by Antiochus, were prohibited from observing their traditions. Judah Maccabee, which means “Judah the Hammer,” led a revolt against this religious oppression. Finally, about three years after the oppression began, the Maccabees rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem.
According to legend, as they cleaned the filth strewn in the Temple by Antiochus' soldiers, the Jews could find only enough oil to light the holy lamp for one day, but miraculously the oil lasted for eight days, time enough for more of the special oil to be prepared. To commemorate the miracle each year, Jewish people around the world light lamps for eight days.
Westover School is an independent boarding and day high school that challenges smart, motivated girls to become confident, connected women. The mission of Westover School is to empower young women to lead lives of consequence. Westover challenges its young women to think independently, to embrace diversity, and to grow intellectually and spiritually. Westover is committed to providing a college preparatory education in a small community atmosphere that emphasizes student-adult interaction. Our faculty has been chosen not only for their scholarship but also because they are people who share several fundamental moral concerns: a belief in passing on to young women their own enthusiasm for learning and a compassion for others.
