Five Foot Ice Menorah To Be Carved at The Corners of Brookfield

BROOKFIELD, WI -- To celebrate the 2018 Hanukkah season, Chabad of Waukesha-Brookfield will be carving a giant ice Menorah at The Corners of Brookfield shopping center. The menorah, standing five-and-a-half feet tall, will be constructed entirely of ice.

On Sunday, Dec. 9, Chabad of Waukesha-Brookfield, an organization dedicated to spreading Jewish awareness and education, will host this unique candle lighting ceremony to promote Hanukkah.

Organizers say that the kindling of the menorah symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness. The ice menorah will be sculpted by Art Below Zero, so onlookers can watch the intricacies of ice sculpting while learning about Hanukkah and celebrating the 2018 holiday season.

This event highlights and encourages the central theme of the holiday — publicizing the story of the Hanukkah miracle.

A special highlight for children will be the Great Gelt Drop. Local firefighters will be in attendance with their Hook and Ladder Truck. They will lift the ladder high into the air, and with a dramatic countdown will sprinkle hundreds of foil wrapped chocolate coins called Gelt.

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, begins this year on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 2 and concludes the evening of Monday, Dec. 10. It recalls the victory of the Jewish people over the Syrian-Greeks who had overrun ancient Israel, and sought to impose restrictions on the Jewish way of life and prohibit religious freedom.

Upon recapturing the Temple only one jar of un-defiled oil was found, enough to burn only one day, but it lasted miraculously for eight. In commemoration, Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting an eight-branched candelabra known as a Menorah.

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