Menorah lighting downtown brightens holiday spirits
Mike Lauterborn
"I always love to come out here to celebrate Hannukah with the public and mark the miracle of lights," Landa said. "The miracle is how a small band of Jews in Israel battled religious oppression and achieved religious freedom for the entire Jewish nation. Here in America, we appreciate the freedom we have to pursue all faiths and celebrate that here tonight."
Landa said the menorah lighting ceremony is emerging as a tradition of Fairfield's holiday season. "I get questions starting in July about the lighting," he said. "That indicates to me that this has become a town tradition and kickoff to many people's Hanukkah celebrations. Many non-Jews come to mark this with us, which is wonderful and an example of the type of community in which we live."
First Selectman Michael Tetreau, fresh from attending a service at a local Episcopalian church, was among the officials attending the event. "What's great about this, especially coming out of (Hurricane) Sandy and seeing the community come together — residents, employees, volunteers — is this rededication to sharing and helping each other in the spirit of Hanukkah. This all works toward building the bond of our neighborhoods and making a better Fairfield."
After Landa and Tetreau addressed the gathering, the first candle of the menorah was lit and local businessman Joe Macy joined the pair to offer a blessing. The menorah's simple flame was a singular presence among the sparkle of Christmas wreaths and lights decorating businesses around the green.
Fairfielder Jay Dimand, who attended the menorah lighting with his two boys, said, "We think this is a nice thing to do, to celebrate in a public way and with the community. Fairfield is very diverse; it embraces difference. We had an incident a few years ago (a protest by several white supremacists), but that was really an exception and isolated, and conducted by outsiders."
Asked how he and his family would mark the first night of Hanukkah, Dimand said, "We'll go home and light our own menorah, and enjoy latkes and doughnuts fried in oil. The oil will remind us of the Biblical miracle of how the Maccabees' one-day supply of lamp oil lasted for eight days."