Like with many other festival celebrations, this Hanukkah is going to be different for the Jewish community in the city. They are able to enjoy and observe rituals of the ‘winter festival of lights’ with their family and friends after a gap of nearly two Covid-impacted years. Herzl Simon, a member from the community, says happily, “Even the synagogues in the city will be actively celebrating the festivals this time. It is good that things are coming back to normal.”

Every year around this time, the city is engulfed in festive cheer and the chill in the air lately is only adding to the joyful feeling. Over the years, while Christmas, the festival celebrated by Catholics, has become a multi-cultural event, Hanukkah remains relatively intimate and less known.