Ethan Kontrient, 10, center, of Westbrook waits for chocolate thrown by Rabbi Moshe Wilansky of Chabad of Maine during the lighting of the menorah celebration at City Hall on the first night of Hanukkah on Wednesday. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Rabbi Moshe Wilansky soared above Portland’s City Hall Plaza Wednesday evening, lighting the menorah and tossing handfuls of chocolate coins to usher in the Jewish festival of lights.

Standing in the bucket of Portland Fire Department’s Ladder 6 truck, Wilansky, director of Chabad of Maine, led the more than 100 gathered in prayer as he sparked the wicks a few minutes after sunset. The plaza’s Christmas tree glowed behind him.

Wednesday marked the first night of Hanukkah, the eight-day festival celebrating the Jews’ rededication of the temple in Jerusalem following its desecration in the 2nd century BCE. A small army of observant Jews, known as the Maccabees, drove the Greek invaders out of the land.

“That story of Hanukkah is not just history. It’s (a) living, ongoing narrative,” Wilansky told the crowd. “In those days, the people of Israel faced a great threat. In those days, a small, isolated nation stood against overwhelming odds…. And our time, too, will see the echoes of these miracles.”

Rabbi Moshe Wilansky of Chabad of Maine throws chocolate candy to a crowd gathered for the lighting of the menorah celebration at City Hall on the first night of Hanukkah on Wednesday. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

This year marked 50 years of public menorah lightings, following the first such event outside Liberty Hall in Philadelphia, Wilansky said. Portland’s was one of more than 15,000 public lightings happening around the world, he said.

“This public menorah stands as a symbol of hope and unity,” Wilansky said.

Portland resident Yoni Israel, 43, jumped up and down with his young daughter in an attempt to warm up. He said the past year has been a difficult one for Jews around the world, as the Israel-Hamas war rages on. The death toll in Gaza has crossed 45,000, the Associated Press reports.

The United States saw record levels of antisemitism between Oct. 7, 2023, and Sep. 24, 2024, the Anti-Defamation League reported. Last month, more than 100 out-of-state rabbis called for the boycott of Portland, after its city council voted to divest from businesses dealing with Israel (the city didn’t have such investments at the time, it later said).

“This is a time that we want to celebrate with the community after a very tough, difficult year,” Israel said. “It’s important for us to show that no matter what, the Jewish people are resilient and strong. We will continue to spread the light, no matter how tough it is.”

Chabad of Maine hosts a lighting of the menorah celebration, complete with a dreidel mascot, on the first night of Hanukkah at City Hall in Portland on Wednesday. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Dozens of families and individuals filled the plaza. Children sat on parents’ shoulders. Many wore illuminated necklaces shaped like menorahs and dreidels, spinning tops used to play a traditional Hanukkah game.

Ben Elkins stood in the courtyard with his two adult sons after spending the day exploring Portland.

Elkins, 60, lives in Chicago, so with one son studying in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and another living in Washington, D.C., the trio decided to meet in Maine for the holiday. He said they had never been before.

“We found a hotel, and we all came in for the week to gorge on seafood and other unkosher delights,” he said with a laugh.

Elkins packed a menorah and planned to light it in their hotel room, but he said the family spotted Chabad’s 13-foot menorah while walking downtown and changed their plans.

“I saw that,” Elkins said, gesturing toward the unlit menorah. “And we knew.”

The start of Hannukah this year lined up with Christmas Day for the first time since 2005. The two days have only lined up a handful of times since 1900.

The late start also means this Hannukah will stretch into the new year, with the eighth and final night occurring Jan. 2.

Rabbi Levi Wilansky, Moshe Wilansky’s son, said that overlap helps serve as a reminder that the holiday’s themes of resilience and righteousness carry value all year long.

“It is significant because really the message of Hannukah’s not just for Hannukah,” Levi Wilansky said. “Once a year, we come together and celebrate that message, remind us of that message. But really, we always have to be a shining light.”