Menorah-lighting ceremony at UVM ushers in first night of Hanukkah

Burlington Free Press

Chabad of Vermont led a menorah-lighting ceremony Tuesday evening at the University of Vermont to begin eight nights of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.

Rabbi Yitzchok Raskin leads a menorah-lighting ceremony Tuesday evening at the University of Vermont on the first night of Hanukkah.

Rabbi Yitzchok Raskin spoke from a Burlington Electric Department cherry picker as he lit the electrically powered menorah. First he lit the center light known as the shamas, and then powered the first candle signifying the beginning of the holiday.

A crowd gathered Tuesday evening at a menorah-lighting ceremony at the University of Vermont.

Raskin welcomed a crowd of dozens at the UVM green at the intersections of Main and South Prospect streets to a celebration he dubbed "white Hanukkah." A light snow fell as he led the brief ceremony, coating the ground and a large spruce tree next to Raskin with fresh powder.