Colorado State University’s annual Menorah lighting and Chanukah celebration is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 5 p.m. on the Lory Student Center Plaza. Additionally, there will be a  CSU Chanukah party on Thursday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 p.m. at Chabad, located at 1121 W. Prospect Road.

At the Dec. 12 event, CSU President Amy Parsons — along with students, faculty and staff as well as CAM the Ram — will be at the celebration, which will feature contemporary music as well as holiday food and drinks. If the weather is not agreeable, the celebration will move to the Lory Student Center.

The celebration is sponsored by the Chabad Jewish Student Organization, the Residence Hall Association, the Office of the President and the Associated Students of Colorado State University.

“This holiday is a testament to our ability as Jews to find the light within the darkest of times. About 2,000 years ago, Jews were told they could not be Jewish and the Jewish temple was destroyed by a Greek empire,” said Shayna Ross, president of Chabad at CSU.  “However, Jews banded together to create a small army and won a religious war against the Greek empire. We believed in ourselves and stood up to defend what we believed when times seemed as if there was no hope. This is a great reminder to all of us that we have to choose to bring the light into this world. That when we believe in something with our whole hearts and unite, we are strong and can make a change. Hanukkah is a universal reminder that light will prevail over darkness.”

The free public event culminates with the lighting of a 6-foot Menorah. According to Rabbi Yerachmiel Gorelik, the celebration has been a fixture at CSU for almost two decades.