Celebrate Hanukkah with the Jewish Museum

Installation view of Accumulations: Hanukkah Lamps at the Jewish Museum. Photo by: Jason Mandella

Release Date: November 6, 2019

Celebrate Hanukkah with the Jewish Museum

Press Release PDF Request Press Images

Highlights Include Selections from the World’s Largest Hanukkah Lamp Collection, Family Programs, and Shopping

New York, NY, November 7, 2019 –The Jewish Museum offers many ways to mark the holiday of Hanukkah, which begins at sundown on Sunday, December 22, 2019.  Highlights include a display of the Museum’s renowned collection of Hanukkah lamps; special family programs, including the annual Hanukkah Family Day; and unique menorahs, dreidels, and gift items available for sale in the Jewish Museum Shop.

Hanukkah commemorates the miraculous events and heroic deeds that occurred in ancient Israel during a desperate war for Jewish religious and political freedom. The eight-day festival is observed this year beginning at sundown on Sunday, December 22, concluding at sundown on Monday, December 30, 2019.


Hanukkah Lamps on View at the Jewish Museum

The Jewish Museum is presenting Accumulations: Hanukkah Lamps, featuring over 80 Hanukkah lamps from North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, ranging in date from the Renaissance to the present. The Jewish Museum’s collection of Hanukkah lamps is the largest and finest in the world at nearly 1,050 pieces, and was amassed over the 115 years of the Museum’s existence.

The Hanukkah lamps are made of such materials as silver, copper, steel, tin, pewter, lead, glass, wood, clay, aluminum, concrete, and silicone. Differences in their materials and styles reveal rich details of the lives of Jews throughout the world over the course of six hundred years.

One of seven sections that make up the Jewish Museum’s third floor collection exhibition, Scenes from the Collection, “Accumulations” spotlights an aspect of museum collecting: the accumulation of multiple examples of a given work or similar works.


Family Programs

Hanukkah Family Day
Sunday, December 15, 11:00 am–4:00 pm
Ages 3 and up
Free with Museum admission

A festive afternoon to celebrate Hanukkah with pop-rock tunes from Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights; an art workshop where kids can build a sculptural Hanukkah lamp with funky found objects and collaborate on a giant collage; a Hanukkah story drawing performance by educator Jeff Hopkins; and an opportunity to make sketches of Hanukkah lamps from around the globe while on a gallery tour of Accumulations: Hanukkah Lamps.

Concert: Nefesh Mountain
Wednesday, December 25
TWO SHOWS!

11:30 am- Ages 3 and up
2:00 pm- Ages 8 and up
Tickets: $18 general public, $14 Jewish Museum family members
Nefesh Mountain (singer Doni Zasloff and her multi-instrumentalist husband Eric Lindberg) present a blend of bluegrass, Celtic, and Appalachian melodies with a Jewish soul. They will perform original melodies from their albums Songs from the Mountain and Beneath the Open Sky along with Hanukkah favorites.

Vacation Week Drop-In Art Workshop: Luminous Painted Scenes
December 22-27, 29 and 30, 1:00 pm–4:00 pm
Ages 3 and up
Free with Museum Admission

In celebration of the glowing light of the Hanukkah holiday, kids will paint luminous scenes on canvas board inspired by the works of Jacob Lawrence, Stuart Davis, and Georgia O’Keeffe.


Hanukkah at the Jewish Museum Shop
The Jewish Museum Shop is the ultimate destination for Hanukkah, with a range of menorahs, dreidels, gifts, and more to help celebrate the holiday. As the preeminent retailer of quality ceremonial objects and gifts relating to Jewish life, the Jewish Museum Shop has one of the largest selections of Hanukkah lamps in New York City.

New to the Jewish Museum shop this year is the Rainbow Menorah ($42), crafted in Israel in colorful acrylic. Featuring removable “candles,” it makes a great first Hanukkah lamp for kids, and can also be used by adults in places where fire is not permitted such as in college dorms.

Several items are exclusive to the Jewish Museum Shop, including the pop-art inspired Lego Dreidel Sculpture ($7,400), masterfully crafted from Lego bricks. It stands over 3 feet tall and gently turns on a special stand. Created by Laura Cowan and made in Israel, the Smart Dreidel ($125) teaches how to play the dreidel game through instructions in vibrant colors. A multiple of the Smart Dreidel is in the Jewish Museum’s collection.

Dreidel pajamas ($36) for children in sizes 12-months to 14 years designed by the Jewish Museum and produced by Sara's Prints. Made from 100% organic cotton, the pajama top features an applique dreidel with embroidery detail and the bottom features a colorful pattern of coordinating dreidels.

Visit the Jewish Museum Shop online for these and more products: Shop.TheJewishMuseum.org.

About the Jewish Museum

Located on New York City's famed Museum Mile, the Jewish Museum is a distinctive hub for art and Jewish culture for people of all backgrounds. Founded in 1904, the Museum was the first institution of its kind in the United States and is one of the oldest Jewish museums in the world. Devoted to exploring art and Jewish culture from ancient to contemporary, the Museum offers diverse exhibitions and programs, and maintains a unique collection of nearly 30,000 works of art, ceremonial objects, and media reflecting the global Jewish experience over more than 4,000 years.

Location: 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, New York City

Hours: Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, 11 am to 5:45 pm; Thursday, 11 am to 8 pm; and Friday, 11 am to 4 pm.

Admission: $18.00 for adults, $12.00 for senior citizens, $8.00 for students, free for visitors 18 and under and Jewish Museum members. Free on Saturdays and select Jewish holidays.

Information: The public may call 212.423.3200 or visit TheJewishMuseum.org.

Press contacts

Press contacts:

Anne Scher, 212.423.3271 or [email protected]

Daniela Stigh, 212.423.3330 or [email protected]

Alex Wittenberg, 212.423.3272 or [email protected]

General inquiries: [email protected]