SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the first of eight candles are lit the night before the Greater Sacramento region enters a stay-at-home order, the rest of Hanukkah may look a bit different, with celebrations happening outdoors or remotely on a live stream and some families celebrating by placing menorahs on top of their cars and parading through the city.
“Because now more than ever, the world needs light. There’s a cover of darkness in the world and like it was in Hanukkah, the original time, the world was dark. It didn’t seem there was any survival to hope, to faith, to believe in god, and it all turned around,” Rabbi Mendy Cohen of the Chabad of Greater Sacramento said.
Rabbi Cohen of the Chabad of Greater Sacramento said the coronavirus pandemic won’t stop them from lighting the menorah each night in hopes for a brighter, new beginning.
“These are candles that never stopped. The Jews were in the holocaust, even in the barracks, they lit the menorah. They took a potato with some margarine, with some thread and made a wick and said thank you, god," he said.
For the Catholic community, things will look a bit different this year, too. For Christmas Eve, the Diocese of Stockton said the Pope put out new flexibility on midnight masses that can now be as early as 2 p.m.
“Having this earlier time allows some parishes to either hold multiple midnight masses or just have one earlier when it’s a little warmer outside. And it gives parishioners that opportunity to celebrate midnight mass because for a lot of people that’s a huge tradition. Midnight mass is a big part of our church," Chandler Marquez, a spokesman for the Diocese of Stockton said.
But amid the coronavirus surge, they’re relying on remotely connecting with people in their homes once again with live streams in addition to outdoor services.
“There’s a lot of rich traditions that go on especially within the Catholic church, and it’s important that we safely practice those this year and remember that there is a lot of good going on in the world. There is a lot of hope going on in the world," Marquez said.
More than 70 Chabad centers in Northern California are coming together for a special zoom celebration for Hanukkah on Monday night at 6 p.m.
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