Come mid-December, Laury and Terry Bagen will join with dozens of family members for an evolving tradition they’ve celebrated their entire lives.
For eight days, they’ll light an additional candle each evening on the hanukkiah — the nine-branched Hanukkah menorah — in their home, until all eight candles plus the central helper candle, the shamash, are shining in a window.
The tradition is a reminder of what Jewish practice calls the “miracle of the oil” — a story from later rabbinic tradition commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the second century B.C.E. after a small band of Jewish fighters known as the Maccabees revolted against the Seleucid Empire that had suppressed Jewish worship.
When they reentered the desecrated Temple, they found only enough consecrated oil to light the menorah for one night. According to tradition, the oil miraculously burned for eight days, long enough to prepare and consecrate new oil. Jews — some 132,000 of whom live in metro Atlanta, according to the American Jewish Year Book 2024 — have celebrated Hanukkah ever since as a testimony to light, faith and resilience.
Credit: Family handout
Credit: Family handout
“What we celebrate at Hanukkah is gratitude and faith and endurance,” said Terry Bagen, a mother and grandmother who lives in Sandy Springs with her husband, Laury.
This year, Hanukkah runs from the evening of Dec. 14 through the evening of Dec. 22.
Family traditions
The Bagens will again acknowledge the holiday through a series of activities, including a large family celebration of about 75 people. Laury will don his magician’s costume, acting out stories that both teach and entertain. They’ll eat latkes (traditional potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnuts). These deep-fried foods recall the miracle of the ancient oil.
Participants will also enjoy music and exchange a few gifts, but the deeper themes of Hanukkah will be front and center.
In addition to family gatherings, they’ll also take their celebration into the broader community, including taking grandchildren to events at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta where Rabbi Brian Glusman has served for 15 years.
Glusman said Hanukkah’s gradual lighting of the menorah — growing from one light to an entire candelabra — has profound significance.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
“It reminds us that no matter how small we might think we are, and no matter how small we actually are, our actions, our behavior, our impact is significant,” he said. “We start with one candle … and by the end of the experience, we’ve created tremendous light. In today’s world, that’s especially significant. Our world today needs more light. We need more blessing.”
Though Hanukkah is considered a minor festival in the Jewish religious calendar, it carries significant cultural and emotional weight. Because of its proximity to Christmas, it’s also become more visible in recent years, Glusman said, with decorations and celebrations proliferating similarly to how Christmas has become bigger and more extravagant. But the way Hanukkah plays out in individual lives can look different.
Terry’s family often has three types of celebrations — the large clan gathering; one that’s small and intimate with just her, Laury and a few children and grandchildren; and a third celebration for her and her siblings’ families who live in the same neighborhood.
Mitzvahs and memories
Even when they were children, the Bagens have fond memories of Hanukkah observances — though each celebrated in different ways. For Laury, gatherings were small and quiet, often just him, his parents and his siblings in their home surrounded by blue and white crepe paper, large stars of David and a warm appreciation for who they were as Jews.
“The Jewish religion is really based on community. We pray as a community, we educate ourselves as a community,” Terry said.
Credit: Family handout
Credit: Family handout
They also emphasize giving back, Laury said. Sometimes that means helping the grandchildren clean out the toy room and donate what they no longer want.
“That’s our new tradition for Hanukkah, to do a good ‘mitzvah,’ do a good deed,” Laury said.
At other times, Hanukkah can take a serious turn. One year, one of Terry’s beloved aunts was hospitalized. Distant family members flew in from out of state to say their goodbyes in what they were told would likely be her last 24 hours — the first day of Hanukkah that year. But, as if following the miracle of the oil, the aunt lived several more days, passing away just as Hanukkah concluded.
“I’ve always believed in the story of miracles and light and faith before that, but now it’s one of my deepest convictions that even a minor holiday has great things to teach us,” Terry said.
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