Chabad of Ann Arbor will be bringing the Festival of Lights to Briarwood Mall this year through Dec. 16, inviting everyone - Jewish and non-Jewish alike - to eat latkes (potato pancakes), decorate Chanukah cookies, participate in a Lego Menorah Contest and create Chanukah crafts each day, with a Menorah lighting each evening at 5:30 p.m.

The Chabad House at the University of Michigan services thousands of Jewish students at the university, and since one of its core beliefs is that “family and community are vital keys to character-building,” it often hosts family-friendly events and aims to bring together members of local communities in an education, fun and friendly atmosphere.

With an admission price of $3, attendees of Chanukah Wonderland can also view candle-making, watch the process of olive-pressing, dress up as Judah the Macabbi (to have a photo taken), browse the Chanukah gift shop and hop around on a moon bounce.

Chanukah, also known as Hanukkah, is the eight-day Jewish commemoration of “the miracle of the oil.” When Judea was ruled by a Syrian king, Antiochus, in the 2nd century BCE, Jews began fearing the loss of their religion and culture from the Greek influence. When a statue of Antiochus was put into the Jewish temple, a small group of Jews known as the Maccabees refused to worship the false idol. The Maccabees fought, and eventually defeated the Syrian Greeks, who possessed one of the most powerful armies of the ancient world. Their temple had been destroyed in the process, the Jews cleaned and fixed it, and when it was restored, the Jews rededicated it to God. Only one small jar of sanctified oil was found to light the temple’s central flame, but, miraculously, the temple lamp remained lit for eight days. Today, Jews commemorate this miracle by lighting a Menorah.

Although the commercialism of December’s Christmas may overshadow Hanukkah in the American culture, Hanukkah actually predates the Christian Christmas by a few hundred years. In comparison, though, Christmas is a more important date on the Christian calendar than Hanukkah is on the Jewish calendar; Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover and Shavu’ot are all more significant than Hanukkah.

Chanukah Wonderland is located in the Sears wing of Briarwood Mall, next to the Shoe Cobbler.

Stephanie Fenton covers Faith for AnnArbor.com. Stephanie can be located at Fenton.Stephanie@gmail.com.