Beginning with New Zealand, Australia, the Far East and moving westward, 15,000 public Chanukah menorahs are being lit in major cities, small towns and remote villages around the world. Throughout the eight-day holiday, Chabad emissaries will be leading Chanukah celebrations in more than 1,000 Chabad-Lubavitch centers in all 50 United States, thousands more in 100 countries across the globe and at 264 centers on university campuses worldwide. Large menorahs will be on display in front of iconic landmarks, including the White House, the Eiffel Tower, the Brandenburg Gate and the Kremlin, with record crowds expected to take part in lightings around the world in the face of mounting anti-Semitism in Europe. Here are some of the lightings around the world. Photos will be added throughout the week.

Reykjavik, Iceland

Rabbi Avi Feldman, Iceland’s first permanent rabbi, leads the nation’s first public menorah-lighting on the streets of Reykjavik.







Durham, North Carolina

Legendary basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, who has the most wins in NCAA Division I history, lights the menorah with Chabad at Duke University.







Manaus, Brazil

The first menorah in a Brazilian aiport at the Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus.


Moscow, Russia

Moscow photos: Levi Nazarov









Bangkok, Thailand



Mariupol, Ukraine



Berlin, Germany

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier lit the shamash (helper) candle on the largest menorah in Europe: erected at the Brandenburg Gate. He noted that the lighting comes 80 years after the Nazis’ anti-Jewish Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”) pogrom and in the shadow of the Holocaust. He said he was thankful for the Jewish communities in Germany, adding that “it is a gift that we can reach out to join hands over the chasm of our history.”



Mumbai, India






Tel Aviv



Bellaire, Texas




Rostov-on-Don, Russia





Chanukah begins this year on the night of Sunday, Dec. 2, and continues through Monday, Dec. 10. For information, insights and events at Chabad centers around the world, visit: Chabad.org Chanukah.