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The Time of Hanukkah in Jewish Communities of Belarus

Hanukkah festive events were held in all the Jewish communities of Belarus. They were very different and could fit any taste or age.

According to the script of the evening Hanukkah festival in Gomel gathered guest–stars from Israel, Birobidzhan, Odessa, the USA and China. The “guests” performed dances and sang songs that were traditional in the countries they came from. This idea created a special and unique atmosphere of the evening. Guys from Mozyr were invited to the festival. On their way to Gomel they talked a lot about history and traditions of the holiday; after the concert they tasted hot sweet doughnuts and got Hanukkah presents.

Hanukkah party was organized for teenagers in Vitebsk by the “Jewish Leaders School”. There was organized a quiz game on history and traditions of Jewish nation for the guys. Everybody could demonstrate knowledge he or she got attending community program. The guys even staged some Hanukkah stories and they enjoyed it very much. Everybody was a winner. The evening came to an end surprisingly fast. At the end of the event the participants tried doughnuts and had disco with a workshop on “tic–tonic”.

Three generations participated in celebrating Hanukkah in Lida. The most respectable and distinguished community members lit candles. Guys from Sunday school showed a musical, children music ensemble “Shalom” sang Hanukkah songs. All the guys got presents and Hanukkah gelt.

In Mogilev the first evening of Hanukkah was celebrated in an intimate atmosphere of the “Intellectuals' Club. The idea of the evening was focused on the theme of miracle, i.e. the miracle of Hanukkah, reality of miracles, miracles in our life. Talented young singer Oksana Urchenko sang Jewish songs. Participants of the festive evening helped to hold the event. On Hanukkah a first night of the performance “Koloboker” (a derivative word from the name of a fairy–tale character Roly–Poly) staged by the children theatre studio was shown to the audience consisting first of all of parents, grandparents and friends of young actors. Puppet theatre actors, young singers and musicians, as well as their parents had a trip to Bobruisk Jewish community. Maya Kazakevich conducted a tour across Jewish places of Bobruisk for the guests from Mogilev; after the excursion the Jewish campus welcomed the guests. Later on a concert was held. Among the participants of the event there were both children and their parents. Such trips are not only a good chance to get new impressions and knowledge on Jewish history, as well as to meet new people, but also a real incentive for creativity.

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