As part of the annual Christmas decoration tradition, the White House announced a new addition: a menorah to celebrate Hanukkah.
Menorah is included in the Cross Hall, a wide hallway on the house’s first floor, under a crown.
It is placed between portraits of President Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson.
According to the White House, the menorah was built by the Executive Residence’s Carpentry Shop from wood left over from a 1950s renovation under President Harry Truman.
While the menorah has been lit at the White House before, this is the first time it has been displayed as part of an official exhibit.
In 1979, he was the first president to light a menorah to celebrate the holiday, so it’s appropriate to place him near Carter’s portrait.
In 2001, George W. Bush, for the first time as president, hosted a Hanukkah party at his White House mansion and lit a menorah.
Last year, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted the Menorah Lighting, attended by Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog.
“You know, when we light this menorah in the White House, when Jewish families place menorahs in their windows, we proclaim liberty,” Biden said.
“We’re exercising the freedom that the Maccabees sought to practice their faith. And we’re showing that there is still light, that even the most fragile flame can be sustained in a tradition and nourish the soul of a people,” Biden added.
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