Happy Hanukkah
The four thousand or more Jews in Costa Rica tonight end the celebration of Chanukah, the most important Jewish holiday of the year.

The holiday began last Saturday, December 16 and ends tonight.

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of the oil that burned for 8 days

In Costa Rica a large number of Jews gather at the home of Israel's ambassador to Costa Rica, Ehud Eitam, to remember and celebrate to holiday and light the candles of hope and freedom.

Ambassador Eitam said that Jews today live in a similar way as the origin of Hanukkah, oppressed by their political enemies, who would like to see Israel over and done with as well as the Jewish faith. Eitam added that, like in the past, the God of Israel will protect the Jewish people.

"Israel today is still surrounded by enemies who do not accept its sovereignty , but we survive", said Eitam.


Hanukkah, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that starts on the 25th day of Kislev, which may be in December, late November, or, while very rare in occasion, early January (as was the case for the Hanukkah of 2005–2006). The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each of the festival's eight nights, one on the first night, two on the second, and so on.

Hanukkah has relatively simple religious rituals that are performed during the eight nights and days of the holiday. Some aspects are practiced at home by the family, other aspects are communal. There are additions to the regular daily prayer services in the Siddur, the Jewish prayer book. Jewish law does not require one to refrain from activities on Hanukkah that would fit the Jewish definition of "work." Thus people are allowed to go to school and work. Employees are not given the holiday off and children are generally only given two or three days off from school.

Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The standard candles sold for Hanukkah burn for half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark out. Friday night presents a problem, however. Candles must be lit before the start of Shabbat.