More than 1,000 attend Calgary menorah lighting ceremony

The first candle of the menorah at Calgary city hall was lit on Dec. 30, 2024. Both Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Premier Danielle Smith (pictured at left) were in attendance after missing the 2023 ceremony.

The City of Calgary held its annual menorah lighting ceremony on Monday night and officials said more than 1,000 people attended.

The ceremony took place on the sixth night of Hanukkah, a Jewish celebration that lasts eight days and eight nights, symbolizing the victory of light over darkness.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek attended the ceremony, as did Premier Danielle Smith.

"More than anything, Hannukah tells the story of courage in the face of adversity and that's a message that should strike a chord with every one of us as conflict spreads overseas and intolerance grows closer to home," Smith said during the ceremony.

"People like me being here is to make sure we're standing together with everyone and making sure that all traditions are honoured and all cultures are celebrated," Gondek said.

Neither attended last year's event; Gondek said she feared it had become politicized while Smith was in Dubai for the COP28 summit.

Pro-Palestinian protest

Four people, that police believed were pro-Palestinian protesters, also attended the ceremony.

When asked to leave by the CPS, the group pulled out signs and megaphones to protest outside Calgary city hall.

Calgary police said more than a dozen people conducted peaceful protests outside the building and were prevented from disrupting the event.