Hanukkah 2014 Photos Show Beautiful Celebrations Around The World

Happy Hanukkah!

The annual Jewish holiday celebrating light over darkness begins today, and events to mark the occasion are taking place all over the world.

Hanukkah began many centuries ago, when Jews living in the Holy Land resisted attempts by the Seleucids to assimilate them and reclaimed control of the temple in Jerusalem.

The temple menorah only had enough oil to stay lit for one day, but miraculously, it lasted eight. Jewish ancestors therefore established Hanukkah as an eight-day festival in which people would light the candles of a menorah every night.

Here are some photos showing how Hanukkah is being celebrated around the world.

Happy Hanukkah! #thedylanonfifth #thedylan #bozzuto #empirestatebuilding #esb #empirestatedg #holidays #blue #white #manhattan #hanukkah #5thave #view #nycapt
A photo posted by The Dylan On Fifth (@thedylanonfifth) on Dec 12, 2014 at 5:37pm PST

Thanks @mayanotisrael for telling @ariditko and i where we could watch them light the worlds largest menorah (59th and 5th in grand army plaza - in front of the plaza hotel) #happyhanukkah #worldslargestmenorah #hanukkah2014 #LightsForLuba
A photo posted by @shanamolli on Dec 12, 2014 at 3:12pm PST