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Menorah lighting for Hanukkah at La Crosse City Hall
You can see Christmas decorations all over La Crosse during the season…but there is another major holiday being observed this week.
Members of La Crosse’s Jewish community, and several visitors from Iowa, gathered outside City Hall Monday night to mark the 5th night of Hanukkah.
A large menorah was lit in the parking lot for the occasion.
The celebration was arranged by Jewish residents of Postville, who often come to La Crosse for shopping and other purposes, according to Postville Rabbi Aron Schimmel.
Schimmel said the ceremony in La Crosse was inspired by the need to provide more light in a year where the pandemic has brought darkness.
“We grow from the challenges,” said Schimmel. “From the negative, from the things we try to figure out new ways and more ways to add light.”
Members of La Crosse’s temple joined in the observance, which included the serving of jelly doughnuts and potato latkes, and the visitors received a proclamation from the city of La Crosse.