The purpose of Hanukkah is to celebrate the miracle of oil that lasted for eight nights instead of the predicted one night. My dear friend, Lucia van Ruiten, brought me this Hanukkah menorah from Israel, so it has special meaning. The central candle holder is called the “shamash.” It is lit first then used to light subsequent candles in a direction going from right to left. On the first night, we light the shamash and use it to light one candle only. On the second night, we light the shamash and use it to light two candles only and so on for eight nights. Once the candles are lit they are never blown out. A Hanukkah candle box holds 44 candles in a variety of pastel colors.
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