Icy menorah lights up Hanukkah festivities in Naperville

On the fourth night of Hanukkah, people of the Jewish faith - and ice carving fans of any faith or no faith - gathered as day turned to evening in Naperville, celebrating light within a world that can feel filled with darkness.

The gathering was the annual Hanukkah menorah-lighting sponsored by Chabad Jewish Center of Naperville, and for the second year in a row, the menorah used in the public prayer ceremony was one carved from ice.

Rabbi Mendy Goldstein says the carving is a fun way to put a twist on the ancient tradition of celebrating Hanukkah.

The wintertime festival of lights came about to recognize an occasion when Jews rededicated a temple in the Holy Land after a successful revolt against an oppressive government. With only a one-day supply of untainted lighting oil, the faithful were able to illuminate a menorah in the temple for eight days, which they saw as a miracle.

Jews now celebrate the festival with nightly menorah-lightings, special prayers and foods such as fried potato latkes, traditional doughnuts, fried apple fritters, applesauce and cheese blintzes. This year, Hanukkah runs from Dec. 2 through Dec. 10, meaning Wednesday's gathering came at the midpoint of the eight-day religious and cultural event.

Those gathered Wednesday also used the occasion to honor the lives of the 11 people killed Oct. 27 in a shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.