LYNDHURST, Ohio — It’s a menorah-lighting ceremony. It’s a parade. It’s two events in one.
For the fifth consecutive year, the City of Lyndhurst will hold a menorah-lighting ceremony on the front lawn of City Hall, 5301 Mayfield Road. And, if the timing is right, just about when the menorah is being lit — at a scheduled time of 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22 — a menorah/Chanukah parade will be passing by.
Rabbi Mendy Freedman, whose Lyndhurst Chabad Family Center is a parade organizer, said that this year’s Light After Dark Menorah Parade and Chanukah Celebration will consist of about 50 cars that will make their way from a Legacy Village starting point at 5 p.m. Dec. 22 and wind through Lyndhurst, Cleveland Heights, near University Circle in Cleveland, Beachwood and University Heights.
“We are spreading the message of light into the world,” Freedman said of the parade. “We have 50 cars registered to take part beforehand, and each will have a menorah on top. We will leave Legacy Village at 5 p.m., and our first stop will be Lyndhurst City Hall.”
After leaving Lyndhurst City Hall, Freedman said, “We (the parade) will go to different locations where there is not a menorah to spread the light.”
Freedman said the parade will slow down as it passes City Hall, possibly in the middle lane of Mayfield Road so as not to impede traffic. In addition to local police departments, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office will also ensure that what has become an annual parade proceeds smoothly.
Freedman, whose Lyndhurst Chabad is actually located in Mayfield Heights (1413 Golden Gate Blvd.), said the organization’s mission is to help the Jewish community in the Hillcrest area.
Freedman was present on Dec. 10, 2015, when Lyndhurst became the first Northeast Ohio city, other than Cleveland, to light a menorah. About 100 people attended that first menorah lighting, many of them members of Freedman’s Chabad, including Lyndhurst Councilman Lane Schlessel.
Also present were former mayor Joseph Cicero and Patrick Ward, who is now mayor, but at the time was mayor-elect. In 2019, Ward again invites the entire community to take part.
“After the lighting, we’ll all go to the community center (1341 Parkview Drive, behind City Hall) where we’ll have refreshments and entertainment,” Ward said. In past years, the gathering after the lighting had been held in the Lyndhurst fire station at City Hall, but the station is currently undergoing reconstruction.
Likewise, Freedman said: “The parade is leaving Legacy Village at 5 o’clock, but if people think there will be things to do at 5 o’clock, they will be wrong. The festivities will start at about 6:30 at Legacy Village when the parade returns. We will have a lighting of the menorah at Legacy Village (on The Lawn), and have doughnuts, latkes and hot drinks. It will all take place outdoors.”
To Learn more about the parade and Chanukah celebration, including a parade map, visit CLEmenorahparade.com.
