Carol Currier’s traditional menorah

The shamash, and a candle representing the first of the eight nights of Hanukkah, were lit on the menorah last night during a communal celebration at the Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation in Ashburn.

Hanukkah, when translated, means "dedication." (For a quick primer on Hanukkah and why it is celebrated in the Jewish faith, check out this article from Sunday's Washington Post.)

At yesterday's event, several families brought with them their own menorahs to light.

Carol Currier of Sterling brought a traditional silver menorah, which originally belonged to her grandmother. Currier estimates that it may be 60 years old. Like many older menorahs, she said, it uses oil to fuel the flames, not candles.

Carolee Chamberlin of Waterford celebrated the first night of Hanukkah using a cherished 20-year-old contemporary menorah that a friend brought her from Israel.

And the Medoff family of Brambleton, celebrated with a Walt Disney menorah - complete with Minnie and Mickey Mouse spinning a dreidel!

The Medoff family brought their Disney-themed menorah

My favorite menorah of the evening, however, belonged to Mark and Claudia Raffman of Reston. Theirs was emblazoned with a contemporary cityscape of Jerusalem. It had to have a unique story behind it, I thought.

"I bought it at Wegmans last year!" joked Claudia. "But it spoke to me artistically, so I had to have it."

After the menorah lightings, the congregation sang Hanukkah songs, ate pizza and traditional latkes, and the congregation's children were treated to crafts, gold chocolate coins and yes, miniature dreidels to spin.

As Rabbi Jesse Gallop explained to me, Hanukkah isn't just a celebration of the Macabees' overthrow of the Seleucid Empire thousands of years ago. "More importantly," he said, "it's a celebration of diversity and the freedom of religion, which we in America enjoy today."

The Raffman’s menorah was purchased at Wegmans

"We teach the children that it's okay to be different - it's okay not to have a Christmas tree like so many of their friends do," he added.

And in the spirit of celebrating diversity and religious freedoms, representatives from the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities joined forces on the Loudoun County Courthouse lawn yesterday afternoon for an Interfaith Invocation marking the celebration of several important December holidays: Eid al-Adha, the Muslim Festival of Sacrifice on Dec. 8; Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights which began yesterday at sundown; Christmas, the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus on Dec. 25; and the Sikh holiday that marks the birth of Guru Gobind Singh on Dec.22, today.

Brady Solomon, 4, lights a candle on the menorah. Brother Luke, 1, looks on.

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