Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

Our Favorite Holiday
A

t times, when I write a “Looking 
Back,” I have a problem. Some 
subjects are simply cited so 
many times that it is hard to decide 
how to focus the story. Case in point: 
Chanukah, the Festival of 
Lights. 
Chanukah is a topic 
that has an overwhelming 
presence in the William 
Davidson Digital Archive 
of Jewish Detroit History. 
The holiday is mentioned 
on about 12,000 pages in 
the Archive. Chanukah is 
cited 9,000 times; Hanukah nearly 3,000 
times. I find it interesting that, until the 
1940s, with a few dozen exceptions, the 
predominate spelling in the Detroit Jewish 
Chronicle (1916-1951) was “Chanukah.” 
The JN, however, first published in 1942, 
used “Hanukah” through the 1960s, then 
shifted to Chanukah as the preferred 
spelling in the 1980s, an editorial conven-
tion that continues to this day.
I might venture to say that Chanukah 
is our favorite holiday at the JN. This is 
for one salient reason: the annual chil-
dren’s art contest. It’s a blast! For the 
past few decades, we’ve had thousands 
of great entries of original art from our 
community’s foremost artists — kids! 
Perhaps the best day of year at the JN is 
when we gather all the submissions and 
meet to decide the winners. Let me tell 
you, this is not an easy process. We get 
lots of great art. In the recent past, the 
winners grace the front cover of the JN’s 
Chanukah issue, and these pages are pre-
served in the Archive.
One aspect of Chanukah that one often 
finds in the Archive are images of and 
stories about menorahs, many on the cov-
ers of the JN. As mentioned above, some 
of these images are envisioned through 
the eyes of children. Two of my favorite 
such covers are Jack Novick’s menorah 
octopus (Dec. 11, 2014, JN) and Emily 

Tracht’s combo Chanukah/Thanksgiving 
turkey menorah (Nov. 21, 2013).
Older menorah covers for the JN and 
the Chronicle also have their charms. 
See the photos of kids and menorahs on 
the cover of the Dec. 21, 1962, and Dec. 
3, 1963, issues. The front 
page of the Nov. 30, 1945, 
issue of the Chronicle had 
special meaning. It was the 
first Chanukah after the end 
of WWII. Another more sober 
image is on the cover of the 
Dec. 31, 1948, Chronicle. It fea-
tures a menorah behind a man 
and woman in Israeli military 
uniform, with a quote from the 
book of Maccabees: “They were 
ready either to live or die nobly.” 
There are also several traditions 
of menorahs in Detroit beyond 
the pages of the Chronicle and JN. 
For the past decade, there has been 
“Menorah in the D.” Since 2011, 
every Chanukah has been marked by 
the lighting of a giant 26-foot meno-
rah in the Campus Martius/Cadillac 
Square in Downtown Detroit. 
If you cannot make it Downtown 
for the ceremony, no problem. Since 
the 1980s, menorahs have 
come to a place near you 
in the form of the annual 
Detroit Menorah Parade 
sponsored by the local 
Chabad-Lubavitch, with 
dozens of cars, often includ-
ing Michigan State Police 
cruisers, with menorahs on 
their roofs. This year’s parade 
leaves the Lubavitch Yeshiva 
at 15151 10 Mile Road at 4:40 
p.m. on Nov. 29. 
From all of us at the JN – 
Happy Chanukah! 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN 
Foundation archives, available for free 
at www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

62 | NOVEMBER 25 • 2021 

See the photos of kids and menorahs on 
the cover of the Dec. 21, 1962, and Dec. 

of WWII. Another more sober 

. It fea-

tures a menorah behind a man 

uniform, with a quote from the 

: “They were 

ready either to live or die nobly.” 

There are also several traditions 

of menorahs in Detroit beyond 

JN. 

For the past decade, there has been 
“Menorah in the D.” Since 2011, 
every Chanukah has been marked by 
the lighting of a giant 26-foot meno-
rah in the Campus Martius/Cadillac 

for the ceremony, no problem. Since 

Foundation archives, available for free 

