Hanukkah, part 2

We strolled down to the Kotel to see the lights, passing an enormous Hanukkia outside the Jaffa Gate to the Old City. It stood waiting to be lit later in the evening by a rabbi lifted up in a cherry picker:



A view of the Kotel from the Jewish Quarter:


Praying at the wall:


Atop a nearby wall, the flames from an enormous Hanukkia:


No longer known as the Wailing Wall, the Kotel is now mostly a place of rejoicing. Here young men dance and sing in celebration of the festival of lights. For those familiar with Black Adder, you may recall the Jumping Jews of Jerusalem...



More outdoor Hanukkah lights, in their wind-proof glass boxes; people set lots of them outside doors and on window ledges all over town and the oil burns cheerily much longer than candles.


Some display electric Hanukkah lights on their cars:


We came back to the Kotel once again for the last night of Hanukkah to see all eight lights blazing:


And in our apartment too:


An atmospheric video (turn up the volume): residents of Mea She'arim, the Ultra-Orthodox area of Jerusalem, rush to prepare for Hanukkah. Men wear long black coats, tzitzit, and big black hats. Women are always dressed in long skirts, dark tights, and head coverings. We saw several families pushing groceries in a stroller while their tribe of little ones walked beside the mama and papa.