'Brooklyn's Largest Menorah' Lighting Starts This Week

BROOKLYN, NY — Brooklyn's "Largest Menorah" will return to the borough this week.

The longstanding tradition of lighting the giant menorah each night of Chanukah at Grand Army Plaza will kick off on Thursday with a concert, according to the Chabad of Park Slope, which puts on the event each year.

The event will be followed with another lighting ceremony each of the eight nights of Chanukah, the last of which will be on Dec. 17. The events, as in past years, will include live music, hot latkes and gifts for children, according to the congregation.

It is unclear what special guests will join this year's ceremonies, if any. In the past, Mayor Bill de Blasio, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and others have been invited to light the first candle.

The "candles" on the menorah are made of kerosene lanterns with specially designed glass chimneys to protect the lights from the elements. They are lit using a 60-foot boom lift.

"The Menorah is one of the most recognized symbols of the Jewish people," Rabbi Shimon Hecht, the director at Chabad of Park Slope, said last year. "Its lights proclaim the timeless message of the Chanukah miracle. This gigantic Menorah publicly reaffirms the celebration of our freedom, inspired by the Maccabean victory of right over might and light over darkness."

Here's the lighting schedule this year:

1st Night of Chanukah, Thursday, December 10 LIVE KICKOFF CONCERT begins at 5 pm

2nd Night of Chanukah, Friday, December 11 at 3:30 p.m.

3rd Night Of Chanukah, Saturday, December 12 at 7 p.m.

4th Night Of Chanukah, Sunday, December 13 at 5:30 p.m.

5th Night Of Chanukah, Monday, December 14 at 6 p.m.

6th Night Of Chanukah, Tuesday, December 15, at 6 p.m.

7th Night Of Chanukah, Wednesday, December 16 at 6 p.m.

8th Night Of Chanukah, Thursday, December 17 at 6 p.m.