00:00Well, in case you missed it, it is Christmas Day today, but it is also the first day of
00:06Hanukkah, which is a festival of light celebrated by the Jewish community.
00:11And ARC Centre, which is a Melbourne-based community centre and synagogue, is presenting
00:15the Pillar of Light Festival, which starts off tonight at Federation Square in the heart
00:21of Melbourne.
00:22And today I'm joined by ARC Centre's Rabbi Gabby Coltman.
00:27Gabby, what is the significance of Hanukkah and what does it mean for the Jewish community?
00:32Hanukkah is a festival of light where we celebrate, over two millennia ago, the Maccabees,
00:39beating back the Hellenic Greeks that came to ancient Israel to take over, and ultimately
00:45the rededication of the Temple all those years ago, where there was a miracle of light.
00:50The lights lasted in the Temple for eight days.
00:54It's a time of family, camaraderie, getting together with community, and ultimately celebrating
01:03with good food, oily food, mind you, so donuts and latkes, lighting the candelabra, lighting
01:09up the menorah, and just spending quality time with each other.
01:13And obviously it's full and on the same day as Christmas Day today, the first day of Hanukkah,
01:17so what is the significance of that?
01:19It's incredibly special.
01:20Hanukkah is all about adding light in your life, and for Christmas to coincide with Hanukkah,
01:24well, they're two festivals that just have light at the core.
01:28We light the menorah.
01:30Who doesn't want more light in their lives right now?
01:33That's what everybody can do with a bit more light.
01:37And how will you be welcoming the celebrations tonight?
01:40Well, we're going to have a massive party for the next couple of nights in Fett Square.
01:44We'll be lighting up the four-metre menorah over here each evening, and it's really a
01:51celebration, multicultural celebration.
01:55Communities from all over Victoria will be joining us, dignitaries and leaders will be
01:59speaking, and it's really special that so many people have RSVP'd to stand together
02:05with the Jewish community at this time, and we're just so thankful that we have so much
02:09support out there, especially after what we have gone through this year.
02:14There you have it.
02:15We're celebrating Christmas Day, Hanukkah, all on the same day in the multicultural city
02:21of Australia, Melbourne.
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