City Hall Menorah Lighting to Mark Start of Hanukkah in Pasadena on Sunday

Hanukkah begins at sundown Sunday, Dec. 14. Two Pasadena Jewish congregations are preparing to mark the eight-night Festival of Lights with public celebrations and private resilience.

Chabad of Pasadena is scheduled to hold a public menorah lighting at Pasadena City Hall on Sunday afternoon. The event, billed as “Light Up Pasadena,” is set for 3:30 to 5 p.m. and will include serving latkes, doughnuts, and chocolate gelt. Entertainment will feature live music and a performance by the Judah Hebrew School Choir, along with children’s attractions such as a balloon artist, stilt walker and mime.

Earlier today, Vroman’s Bookstore will host a free Hanukkah-themed program at 11 a.m., featuring author Dara Henry reading and signing her picture book Hanukkah Pajamakkahs in partnership with PJ Library and the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys. (For more, click here.)

Chabad will also light a Menorah at The Paseo downtown shopping center on Tuesday, Dec, 16 at 5 p.m.

On Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, Chabad will host Menorahs & Martinis from 7 to 10 p.m. at its Walnut Street center. The adult-focused evening blends tradition with modern hospitality, featuring menorah lighting, cocktails and mocktails, and themed food stations. Leaders say the program is meant to create a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere for singles and couples to celebrate together.

The Menorah Car Parade is set for Thursday, Dec. 18, beginning with the lineup at 4:15 p.m. at Chabad of Pasadena, 1090 E. Walnut St. The parade will roll out at 5 p.m., winding through Pasadena before concluding with a community celebration at Playhouse Village Park around 6 p.m. Organizers say the event is designed to bring Hanukkah’s message of light into the public square, with decorated vehicles and a grand menorah lighting to cap the evening.

Meanwhile, the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center (PJTC) enters Hanukkah in a year unlike any other. The congregation lost its longtime home at 1434 N. Altadena Drive in the Eaton Fire on Jan. 7–8, which destroyed the synagogue complex and displaced dozens of families. Members rescued all 13 Torah scrolls, now safeguarded in congregants’ homes.

The congregation of roughly 400 to 450 families remains very active, with weekly Shabbat services relocated to First United Methodist Church in Pasadena (500 E. Colorado Blvd.), where services are held Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. in person and via Zoom. The temple’s religious school, serving 120 students, began operations at the Frostig School in the fall 2025.

Traditionally, PJTC’s Hanukkah calendar has included backyard candle lightings, potlucks, and a community menorah lighting in Sierra Madre’s Kersting Court.

Rabbi Joshua Ratner, who joined as senior rabbi in July 2025, and Cantor Ruth Berman Harris have guided the congregation through recovery, welcoming approximately five new member families since the fire.

For many members, Hanukkah’s themes of resilience and renewal carry sharper resonance this year as candles are lit in borrowed spaces and private homes.

Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem more than 2,000 years ago and the tradition of oil that, according to Jewish teachings, burned for eight days.

Once the Jews defeated the Hellenist Syrian forces of Antiochus IV in 165 B.C. at the end of a three-year rebellion, the temple in Jerusalem, which the occupiers had dedicated to the worship of Zeus, was rededicated by Judah Maccabee, who led the insurgency begun by his father, the high priest Mattathias.

According to the story of Hanukkah, Maccabee and his soldiers wanted to light the temple’s ceremonial lamp with ritually pure olive oil as part of their rededication but found only enough oil to burn for one day. The oil, however, burned for eight days in what was considered to be a miracle.

Hanukkah — which means “dedication” in Hebrew — is observed around the world by lighting candles in a special menorah called a Hanukkiah each day at sundown for eight days, with an additional candle added each day.