Today was the first day of the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, an 8 day festival, often referred to as the “Festival of Lights” and celebrated with candles, food, family, and friends. I usually get there in time for the lighting of the Menorah, but this year I missed the actual lighting of the candles, which is usually an emotional part of the ceremony. Especially so in light of what happened down under in Sydney, Australia recently at a Hanukkah celebration. We had visible security for the first time on our plaza this year in the form of a handful of police officers standing by.

Because I failed to make it to the plaza on time, I’ve included some of the images I shot from last year’s celebration.