Winter festivities in the community
Eastside asked Cherry Hill residents to reflect on what the holidays mean to them. For most people we asked, the holiday season is not about receiving extravagant presents. Rather, the festive season is viewed as a time to kick back and relax, celebrate with family, and honor beloved traditions.
First, at the local Shoprite, Laurie from Voorhees shared with Eastside her holiday traditions while scooping up her weekly groceries. Laurie says she is the self-proclaimed “world’s best latke maker.” Each year, Laurie’s children, now in their 30s, come home for the holidays to celebrate Hanukkah. They light the menorah, and sing, dance, and laugh—all as a unit. Overall, for Laurie, the holidays are a time of celebration, where she can make memories with her family.
At the corner of the produce aisle, Joseph, a Cherry Hill resident, answered questions about his holiday activities. Joseph said he has lived in the Woodcrest neighborhood for 13 years. To him, the holidays mean family coming together and enjoying special foods that aren’t eaten on a daily basis. Every Christmas, Joseph, his siblings and their kids participate in a “white elephant” gift exchange. The games are competitive. Joseph explained that everyone really “gets into it” and they all have a blast.
Next, for Cherry Hill resident Ed, 44, holidays center around tradition. Each year, their family buys a Christmas tree from the Gaudi Garden Center and, on Christmas Eve, they decorate the tree as a family. Moreover, they never miss Mass on Christmas day. Ed adds that “[they] also celebrate Chanukah with [their] Jewish friends” by having dinner at their house. In summary, Ed reflects on the diverse community in Cherry Hill and the holidays as a time to renew faith in God and the community.
Lastly, as Wendy from Marlton and Darlene from Berlin pushed around their shopping carts, they left their remarks with Eastside. Wendy says the holidays are a time to reflect on blessings. Darlene adds that the holidays are a time for family and love, and she looks forward to them every year.
In Cherry Hill and neighboring towns, residents have diverse traditions. Regardless of religion, what is clear is that the season embodies what is most important: loved ones, traditions and community.
Every year, the flash of red and blue lights and the wail of a siren, a sight ordinarily reserved for emergencies, transforms into a source of festive joy for children all across Cherry Hill.
From Dec. 13 to Dec. 21, the Cherry Hill Fire Department conducted neighborhood tours in the spirit of the holiday season, during which Santa Claus rode on the top of a firetruck and waved to residents. Firefighters also distributed candy canes as the engine advanced from house to house, spreading the holiday spirit for the entirety of the week.
The first instance of celebration via Santa on a firetruck occurred in 1972, when the big man in red welcomed the holiday season through his arrival at the Cherry Hill Mall. This occurrence has grown more frequent over the years, eventually transforming into neighborhood tours that grant everyone the opportunity to experience the joy of seeing Santa Claus. By the 2000s and 2010s, these routes became an annual tradition, delighting children and adults alike, while also highlighting the impact that small actions can have on the community as a whole.
In 2025, Fire Department’s tours continued to act as an organized, community-wide celebration, with scheduled tour dates, color-coded maps, and social media announcements. These efforts allowed for families to plan accordingly, and presented the opportunity for kids to see Santa regardless of their financial situation.
Noelle Terry (‘29) has always loved Christmas and, despite the seemingly daunting wail of the firetruck during her younger years, never failed to “cover [her] ears” and “run up to him and get a candy cane.”
As a young child, Terry enjoyed her family’s traditions, whether it be getting toys on Christmas morning, watching the Polar Express or setting up a mini winter village. However, she has noticed that the previous vibrancy of childhood has been dimmed by the excess nature of consumerism and materialism today. Terry feels that the concept of Santa Claus and his tours across Cherry Hill help to center the spirit of the holidays around the magic of imagination and youth.
“Keep in mind that [these kids] don’t need makeup and Sephora. [They] are like eight,” Terry said. She wishes that children today would “just live [their] childhood[s] and believe in Santa Claus.”
The impact of these firetruck tours spreads far beyond mere sirens and lights; overall, it fosters a sense of imagination, magic and curiosity that many lose as they age, all through the means of candy canes and Santa Claus.
Despite the freezing weather and snow-covered ground, hundreds of members of the Cherry Hill Jewish community gathered on December 14 at 5 p.m. for the ‘Light Up the Night: Chanukah 2025 Giant Menorah Lighting.’ Organized by Chabad Lubavitch of Camden and Burlington Counties, the event took place in the parking lot of the Barclay Farms Shopping Center, where the menorah was displayed throughout Chanukah, with an additional candle being lit each night.
The outdoor celebration resembled a festive party, as it included a large crowd of people singing and dancing around the jumbo LED robots and the enormous public menorah. While live music by DJ Shmez played, celebration attendees lined up to collect traditional Chanukah favorites such as powdered jelly donuts, fried potato latkes with a side of applesauce, chocolate gelt and spinning dreidels.
One of the most anticipated parts of the evening was the car menorah parade. Cars and trucks of all kinds attached illuminated menorahs to the tops of their roofs and drove from the Chabad Center at 1925 Kresson Road through Cherry Hill before arriving at the Barclay Farms Shopping Center. The bright and colorful parade set the tone for the first night of Chanukah celebration.
“Each year the parade gets longer. There are more cars. More families. More love. More Jewish pride. This year was no exception. In fact, there could have been an excuse because of the accumulation of snow, but no chance. The parade was longer and even more emotional considering the devastating news that we all woke up to this morning. The Jewish community in Sydney, Australia was just trying to celebrate on the beach, and they were silenced by bullets,” explained a Woodcrest neighborhood resident in Cherry Hill, who passionately concluded with, “We will never be silent, and we will continue to shine our light!”
A powerful moment came during the menorah lighting itself, when three generations of the Mangel family stood together. The oldest member of the family, a Holocaust survivor, lit the first candle and handed it to Cherry Hill Mayor David Fleisher, who raised it to light the huge 18-foot menorah. The moment served as a reminder of Jewish survival, continuity and resilience.
Rabbi Mendel “Mendy” Mangel, head rabbi of Chabad of Cherry Hill, addressed the crowd following the lighting. Mangel previously prepared to become a rabbi in Australia and shared that he was friends with several of the people killed earlier that day in a deadly antisemitic attack at a Chanukah event in Sydney. Fifteen people were killed in the attack, casting a somber shadow over Jewish communities worldwide.
“To hear that evil people could just take 15 lives away—it was crushing,” Rabbi Mangel said in coverage of the event.
Despite the grief, Rabbi Mangel emphasized the importance of gathering as a community. He spoke about how Jewish strength comes from unity and faith. A student who attended the event reflected on the rabbi’s remarks, explaining that Rabbi Mangel pointed out that, “while we are here as a community, we gain strength in being together,” while the other side resorts to unnecessary violence.
There was a lot of security at the event, which has become routine for many Jewish gatherings. The Anti-Defamation League’s Philadelphia office worked with local organizations to review security protocols, explaining what ADL leaders say is a dramatic global rise in antisemitism, especially since October 7.
Most importantly, leaders stressed that fear would not stop celebrations.
“We need to still be proud of who we are and celebrate our traditions,” said ADL Philadelphia Senior Regional Director Andrew Goretsky.
Rabbi Mangel repeated that statement, saying that trying to intimidate the Jewish community has had the opposite effect.
“What they wanted was for us to cancel our celebration,” he said. “Instead, people doubled and tripled their participation. People reached out to us for the first time saying they want a menorah and want to light the candles,” Rabbi Mangel said proudly.
Chanukah is an eight-day Jewish holiday that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem more than 2,000 years ago. According to Jewish tradition, a small amount of oil meant to last one day miraculously burned for eight, which is why Jews light a menorah, adding one candle each night. The holiday embraces themes of faith, perseverance and bringing light into darkness.
Chabad’s Chanukah programming is impressive and extensive. Throughout the eight days of the holiday, Chabad organized menorah lightings, parades, family celebrations and youth events across South Jersey.
Program director Laizer Mangel said, “The goal is to maximize joy and participation during the holiday. We try to pack in as much as possible into the eight days of Chanukah.”
As the illuminated menorah stands tall and bright for the eight-day duration of Chanukah, each day, we witness the unity, pride and perseverance it symbolizes. When we think of terrible acts of antisemitism and global tragedy daily, the Chabad Chanukah Menorah lighting reinforces the meaning of the holiday: light, goodness and community will always overcome darkness.
As Feb. 17, 2026 nears, communities across East and Southeast Asia, and all around the world, begin preparing for the Lunar New Year, known as the Spring Festival. Weeks and even months before Lunar New Year arrives, homes, streets, neighborhoods and kitchens are filled with meaningful traditions designed to move on from the past and welcome the good fortunes, prosperity and renewal that the new year has in store.
One of the major preparations that take place is deep-cleaning the home. At the end of each year, families thoroughly clean their homes to symbolically sweep out all of the bad luck or misfortune that has accumulated throughout the past year, making space for positive energy and good luck. Once done cleaning, people who celebrate decorate their homes with bright colors, like red, which represents happiness and protection. Red lanterns, paper cuttings, and calligraphy couplets with many different phrases are displayed, along with different symbols of fortune, like flowers and citrus fruits—specifically tangerines and oranges, which resemble gold and symbolize wealth.
Personal preparation is incredibly important as well. Many people buy new clothes and pay off debt to represent a fresh start before the new year begins. Those who celebrate this holiday take these steps so they don’t carry old burdens forward into the new year. Haircuts are also typically taken care of before the holiday because cutting hair during the holiday is thought to be cutting away good luck.
Food preparation also plays a major role in the lead up to the celebration of Lunar New Year. Families prepare symbolic dishes for the holiday. These dishes are used in the New Year’s Eve reunion dinner, the most important meal of the holiday. The food that is used in these dinners are not just valued for their delicious taste; they have a deeper meaning. Common food used in these special dinners include: dumplings that represent wealth, fish representing abundance and long noodles representing longevity. Sweet treats, like Tang Yuan, represent family unity, while Nian Gao, a sweet sticky rice cake, symbolizes upcoming success.
Ultimately, Lunar New Year centers on fresh beginnings, family reunion and welcoming spring. All of these meaningful preparations set the tone for the 15 days of celebrations filled with meals shared with loved ones, red decorations, giving gifts in red envelopes, fireworks and cultural performances. All of these traditions are meant to attract luck and happiness for the upcoming year.