Newsday.com  12/10/2009
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At the menorah and tree lighting sponsored by the Merrick Chamber of Commerce on Sunday, Rabbi Shimon Kramer (center) of the Merrick Chabad referenced the recent attacks in Mumbai, India, in his invocation. “To bring terror, darkness and evil to the world. Such, is the power of darkness. 1,000 times more is the power of light! The lesson of Chanukah is clear. If one is in a room that is CONTINUE
There's also GPS.
Churches, synagogues and other places that display holiday scenes are taking a high-tech approach to an old holiday tradition: theft. They're embedding Jesus figures, menorahs and Santa statues with global positioning system satellite tracking devices.
St. Marks Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn, Ill. is installing the devices in each of the figurines in its 40-year-old nativity scene. There is Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, one wise man, a camel, a donkey and a sheep. There used to be a cow, but it was "borrowed" two years ago and hasn't been returned, says Rev. George Smith.
Local lore has it that two of the church's wisemen were stolen about 10 years ago and later found on a ski slope, he says.
This year, when a parishioner alerted Smith about a free CONTINUE
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Hanukkah is coming . . . Clic!
Let's explain: Clics are Lego-like, brightly colored construction toys - and this year, for the first time, volunteers at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life in Merrick are using thousands of them to build what they say will be the world's largest Clics menorah (about 12 feet tall - lit with candles placed on top).
Lighting it will culminate the center's fourth Chanukah Wonderland, a family-friendly holiday afternoon - doughnut- and mug-decorating, dreidel- and menorah-making, face-painting and more.
Not to mention, a parade featuring menorahs atop cars and limos, which also will sport festive flags and balloons for Hanukkah (the holiday officially begins Friday night, Dec. 11). CONTINUE
