Lighting the Candle: Celebrating Chanukah in Glasgow
With the annual celebration beginning tonight at sundown, Melanie Goldberg looks into the history of the tradition in Govanhill
by Melanie Goldberg | Photo from the collections of the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre
Govanhill has long welcomed different communities fleeing persecution or in search of a better life. In the late 19th century, thousands of Jewish people passed through Glasgow on their way to America, but many settled here. By the start of the first world war, some 9000 Jews were living here – mostly in the Gorbals area, but also in Govanhill. Glasgow’s Jewish population grew to 14,000 following the second world war, but has since declined.
There were once a number of different synagogues, with Langside Synagogue on Niddrie Road being the last to close in 2014. There would have also been Jewish youth movements, community spaces, newspapers, and more.
In more recent years, many Jews moved south and now reside in Giffnock and Newton Mearns, where two of Glasgow’s three synagogues are located, along with a Kosher deli, a Jewish school, and a Jewish community centre, amongst other resources.
Read more: Govanhill’s Past and Future in Four Buildings
The upcoming festival of Chanukah is a popular cultural celebration. As with every Jewish holiday, Chanukah follows the lunar year cycle, and this year’s celebrations fall on 7 – 15 December.
Chanukah celebrates the defeat of the Greek invaders by the Maccabees, a Jewish rebel group in Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. After the defeat, the Maccabees discovered that there was only enough oil to last only one night, but it miraculously lasted for eight. On each night of Chanukah, Jews use the shammash (middle candle) to light one branch of the Chanukiah, a nine-pronged candelabra.
Jews also honour the Maccabees and represent the oil that burned through fried foods: latkes (fried potato pancakes) and sufganyiot (doughnuts) are staples of the holiday. A game of sevivon (dreidel or spinning top) is popular, with the four different sides alluding to the story of Chanukah.
Whilst the details for Glasgow’s annual Chanukah celebrations had not been released at the time of writing, the community typically hosts a Chanukah carnival of sorts in a community centre. This year, an alternative event has been organised by Scotland’s new Jewish creative arts collective, Club Simcha, which will host a Chanukah Ceilidh at the Glasgow Indoor Bowling Club. They describe the event as ‘a space for Scottish Jews to come together and build community, rooted in radical diasporism and collective liberation’. The event will feature Edinburgh-based Klezmer band Och Vey, and is open to Jews and friends.
Govanhill local Tami is the organiser of the event and has described Club Simcha as “an artistic project that seeks to bring together creative Jews in Scotland.” For them, Chanukah is an opportunity to do this, saying: “In some ways, for me, it feels like a Jewish winter solstice.”
For more information on the history of Scotland’s Jews, you can visit the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre, located in Garnethill Synagogue.Govanhill has long welcomed different communities fleeing persecution or in search of a better life. In the late 19th century, thousands of Jewish people passed through Glasgow on their way to America, but many settled here. By the start of the first world war, some 9000 Jews were living here – mostly in the Gorbals area, but also in Govanhill. Glasgow’s Jewish population grew to 14,000 following the second world war, but has since declined.
There were once a number of different synagogues, with Langside Synagogue on Niddrie Road being the last to close in 2014. There would have also been Jewish youth movements, community spaces, newspapers, and more.
In more recent years, many Jews moved south and now reside in Giffnock and Newton Mearns, where two of Glasgow’s three synagogues are located, along with a Kosher deli, a Jewish school, and a Jewish community centre, amongst other resources.
The upcoming festival of Chanukah is a popular cultural celebration. As with every Jewish holiday, Chanukah follows the lunar year cycle, and this year’s celebrations fall on 7 – 15 December.
Chanukah celebrates the defeat of the Greek invaders by the Maccabees, a Jewish rebel group in Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. After the defeat, the Maccabees discovered that there was only enough oil to last only one night, but it miraculously lasted for eight. On each night of Chanukah, Jews use the shammash (middle candle) to light one branch of the Chanukiah, a nine-pronged candelabra.
Jews also honour the Maccabees and represent the oil that burned through fried foods: latkes (fried potato pancakes) and sufganyiot (doughnuts) are staples of the holiday. A game of sevivon (dreidel or spinning top) is popular, with the four different sides alluding to the story of Chanukah.
Whilst the details for Glasgow’s annual Chanukah celebrations had not been released at the time of writing, the community typically hosts a Chanukah carnival of sorts in a community centre. This year, an alternative event has been organised by Scotland’s new Jewish creative arts collective, Club Simcha, which will host a Chanukah Ceilidh at the Glasgow Indoor Bowling Club. They describe the event as ‘a space for Scottish Jews to come together and build community, rooted in radical diasporism and collective liberation’. The event will feature Edinburgh-based Klezmer band Och Vey, and is open to Jews and friends.
Govanhill local Tami is the organiser of the event and has described Club Simcha as “an artistic project that seeks to bring together creative Jews in Scotland.” For them, Chanukah is an opportunity to do this, saying: “In some ways, for me, it feels like a Jewish winter solstice.”
For more information on the history of Scotland’s Jews, you can visit the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre, located in Garnethill Synagogue.