Happy Hanukkah!
The Festival of Lights commemorates the story of how a day’s worth of oil lasted eight days, and how people brought to light the story of how the Jewish people rededicated the Second Temple in Jerusalem some two thousand years ago.
When most people mark Hanukkah with lights, they mean candles on a menorah.
But a guy in Houston is bringing all the lights for the festival.
Philip Grosman is the owner of what’s now known as Hanukkah House.
And while it does have a menorah, that’s only part of the light show in front of the place.
There are countless blue and white lights on the house, in the yard and on either side of the driveway.
There are inflatable bears and people, giant shiny presents, even big dreidels and giant gold-wrapped chocolate coins known as gelt.
A lot of these items are off the shelf, but not all.
Grosman says that Hanukkah-themed decorations can be hard to find.
When he can’t buy them, he makes them.
For example, he makes those extra large gelt by cutting styrofoam into disc shapes and wraps them up in gold foil.
(No, sadly, they’re not actually made of chocolate.)
He’s also wired lights for his 8 foot outdoor menorah and carefully lettered “Happy Hanukkah” onto his homemade wooden dreidels.
Grosman says setting up the Hanukkah House starts around Halloween and takes all the way until about Thanksgiving.
He holds a lighting ceremony with his family and then invites people from all over Houston and beyond to enjoy the show.
And it’s not just a light show, either: people who drop by can push a button and hear some Hanukkah music.
Plus, Hanukkah House has worked with local temples on toy drives, charity fundraisers and parties.
Something tells me latke and donuts taste even better when you’re outside an enormous display of Hanukkah lights.
Houston’s famous Hanukkah house shines bright for the holidays (KHOU)
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Screen capture from KPRC 2
