December is an interfaith month: From December 18 to 26, 2022, Judaism celebrates the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah. In memory of the miracle of light after the Maccabean uprising in the 2nd century BC, a candlestick is lit in the evening, the Hanukkah. Christian Christmas, on the other hand, does not begin until Christmas Eve on December 24 and ends with Epiphany, the feast day of the Magi, on January 6. In their customs, both celebrations are similar: in the company of family and friends, people enjoy traditional dishes, prayers and songs, and the light of candles.
The Austrian actress Adele Neuhauser and the Israeli opera singer Hila Fahima let us expect a sonorous symbiosis of both religious festivals: With songs and lyrics of both traditions, Hanukkah and Christmas merge into one "Chrismukkah".
Sound Worlds at the Chancellery
In the centuries-old tradition of performing art and culture in the grand Viennese palaces, the Federal Chancellery invites you to a new concert series: the "Klangwelten Kanzleramt" will take place under the patronage of Federal Minister Karoline Edtstadler and the curatorship of Danielle Spera in a small circle in the state rooms of the Palais Ballhausplatz. Together with Austrian musicians and artists, they bring the life-affirming art of Judaism before the curtain.
Broadcast on 20.12. at 23:10 on ORF2
Click here for the Seitenblicke article (available until 19.12.)