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