"Chanukaritas" in Hungary and the "Chanukah Caravan" across the Danube region

Chanukah Celebrations in Budapest:

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This year, the Jewish community of Budapest observed Chanukah "in a new light". For the first time, the city's active Jewish youth organizations – including Hashomer Hatza'ir, Kidma, Bnei Akiva, Habonim Dror, and the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) – in collaboration with the Balint Jewish Community Center and JDC, organized a citywide celebration of Chanukah. Support of numerous Jewish agencies in Hungary also helped bring the programs to fruition. Four nights of festivities comprised the "extravaganza", which welcomed young and elderly to relish the more than two-millennia-old holiday in new and innovative ways.

The first event, held on the third night of Chanukah, was a dance party at a popular club in Budapest, "Olof Palme House". Some 700 people, ages 15 to 30, gathered at the cool haunt to hear six DJs – five from Hungary (including a Jewish young adult who was involved in the JDC-Lauder Szarvas International Summer Camp) and one from Great Britain – mix tunes at the hip hop fiesta. The party opened with Chanukah-candle lighting by a local rabbi and lasted well into the night.

Day two's activity, "Chanukaritas", provided an opportunity for youth volunteers to bring Chanukah cheer to many institutions, both Jewish and secular, around Budapest. Honoring the essence of "Chanukah" and the Latin term "Caritas" (compassion or care-giving), more than 150 volunteers, ages 14 to 18, participated in the event. Beforehand, volunteers prepared food and gift packages – complete with menorahs – for distribution during the festive holiday celebrations they would then lead at ten locales, including a children's hospital, a Jewish old age home, and a temporary shelter for homeless individuals battling alcohol addiction.

The teens first gathered at the Balint Jewish Community Center to be divided into groups (each with a social worker, madrich and photographer), then dispersed to the various sites where they led participants in lively celebrations of singing, dancing, and candle-lighting. Afterwards, the volunteers regrouped back at the Balint JCC, where they had a chance to see pictures from the other area parties and be honored with a diploma for their important contribution to the success of "Chanukaritas".

The third evening's events took place at Budapest's famous Merlin Theater, which hosted Chanukah programs for all generations – young, middle age, and elderly. Nearly 1,000 people flocked to take advantage of myriad cultural programs held in the theater's rooms and halls, including a literary café; live Klezmer, Roma ("Gypsy"), and other music concerts; films; and talk shows.

On the fourth day, a Chanukah celebration for kids and young families was hosted at the Balint Jewish Community Center. Among the special programs was a reunion for participants of the JDC-Lauder Szarvas International Summer Camp (held annually in Szarvas, Hungary). Kicking off in the morning, the reunion was marked with music concerts, dancing, and various other activities. In the afternoon, families with young children enjoyed a fantastic, carnival-like atmosphere of musical storytelling about Chanukah, food, and games. The event, attended by some 250 people (including a few grandparents of participating youngsters), culminated with candle-lighting and a large children's dance party with Jewish and Israeli music.

Addressing the importance of this first community-wide Chanukah celebration in Budapest, JDC Hungary Deputy Director, Mircea Cernov, explained that "the main objective was to maximize outreach efforts." JDC's collaboration – in particular the technical assistance provided to the city's Jewish youth organizations to professionally execute this project – helped to achieve this goal and bring the spirit of Chanukah to thousands throughout the city. "The participation of so many people of all ages tells us that we helped to create a huge success that is likely to be repeated in years to come."

Furthering outreach efforts, JDC Hungary also organized an initiative in the newly forming group of Jewish communities known as the "Weinberg Danube". Comprising communities across the Danube, this region's annual activities are supported by the Weinberg Foundation.

Members of seven different Jewish communities throughout the region created a "Chanukah Caravan" that connected four countries in their efforts to celebrate the holiday with a wider range of activities. In cooperation with local community professionals, festive and joyful programs were realized in the cities of Belgrade, Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna. More than 700 people between the ages of 3 and 70 participated in the events, which included traditional candle lighting, singing, and dancing. "We feel the happiness of connecting ourselves to Jewish people all around the world," said one of the program participants in Budapest.

The Chanukah Caravan initiative bodes well for the future of Jewish life in the Danube region. It not only brought light where Chanukah candles were not lit before, but marked a new beginning of connectedness among Jewish communities in Central Europe that have for decades been disconnected.