Giant Hanukiah In Singapore. Why Three Candles - and the fourth?

On Christmas Day in Orchard Road, Singapore, we passed dozens of Christmas trees, candles, little red Santas swinging from the trees, a large menorah with its goodwill message.


Happy Chanukah on Orchard Road, Singapore, Christmas Day 2019. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

My family almost walked past the giant Hanukiah on Orchard Road. From the base you cannot see it. Look up, and there it is.

This is the Hanukiah or 8/9 branch candelabra for hanukah, as shown on a hanukah card we had been sent by a lovely Jewish family overseas. With that imprinted on my mind, I expected to see all 8 or 9  candles glowing on the giant hanukiah in Orchard Road.

My first thought was, what a pity that all the candles are not lit. There must be a malfunction in the electrics. 

Then somebody else realized why. It was the third day of Hanukah, so only three lights were lit. You light one every night until on the eighth night the last one is lit. The extra one in the middle is for lighting the others. (Not nowadays that there is electricity, but if you have a hanukiah at home or in a synagogue or public place.)
As Boris, member of Parliament and Prime Minister of the UK, said in his Hanukah message, the lighting of the hanukiah recalls how the bad days of persecution were followed by the good days of restitution of freedom. It is a message of light and hope.

The hanukiah should be there with an extra light each day until the eighth day when all of them are lit. For those of us who like symmetry, and the hanukiah is delightfully symmetrical, the best time for a photo is on the last day. But the previous days with a candle yet to be lit also tell the story.

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Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.