Fairfield to host menorah lighting ceremony Dec. 21

FAIRFIELD — For the third year in a row, Fairfield’s Central Park will host a public celebration during Hanukkah.

A synagogue based in Postville, Iowa, called Chabad Lubavitch of Northeast Iowa, announced this week that it will return to Fairfield for a ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 21, the fourth night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The event will last from 6-7 p.m., during which a 10-foot menorah will be erected in Central Park.

Two local dignitaries, Fairfield Mayor Connie Boyer and Fairfield Jewish Community President Marc Berkowitz, will light the menorah and deliver holiday greetings.

After the lighting ceremony, the public is invited to dance, sing and eat donuts and latkes (potato pancakes), a traditional Hanukkah food. The event will also feature Hanukkah gelt (chocolate coins), gifts and dreidels for children.

Rabbi Aron Schimmel, director of the Chabad Jewish Center of N.E. Iowa, has organized a series of public Hanukkah celebrations across Iowa, and this will be the third year his synagogue has made the trip to Fairfield. In 2020, Chabad Lubavitch held menorah lighting ceremonies in two other towns beside Postville, Fairfield and La Crosse, Wisconsin, and the following year added Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Dubuque. Schimmel told The Union in 2021 that Fairfield was the “most lively place” of any of the towns he visited.

“The Menorah serves as a symbol of Fairfield’s dedication to preserve and encourage the right and liberty of all its citizens to worship G-d freely, openly, and with pride,” Schimmel stated in a news release. “Specifically in America, a nation that was founded upon and vigorously protects the right of every person to practice his or her religion free from restraint and persecution, the Menorah takes on profound significance, embodying both religious and constitutional principles.”

Dagmar Swazo, who is looking forward to attending the public menorah lighting commented, "I want my kids to grow up with pride in their Jewish heritage and a feeling of equality and self-confidence as an American. The public menorah lighting is one of the most important events to help my children’s education. It helps me teach my children values that I took for granted growing up.”

Schimmel said the menorah display in downtown Fairfield will be one of several in Iowa and one of thousands of large public menorahs sponsored by Chabad throughout the world, “helping children and adults of all walks of life discover and enjoy the holiday message.”

The event is open to the public and is free of charge.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com