Hanukkah Tradition Opens Doors For 21st Season

For 21 years, Chanukah Wonderland has been a staple of the holiday season for Jewish people celebrating Hanukkah in the Newtown area.

The pop-up shop, operated on by Lubavitch of Bucks County, aims to be a place to find everything someone might need for the holiday. The shop stocks more than 80 menorahs and lots of other items, according to Miriam Shemtov, the manager for the shop.

The store offers a place to find things that might not be found in bigger chain stores.

“[It’s important] so that children and adults who celebrate have a place to get decorations and activities,” Shemtov said.

The store has been a constant for 21 years, but it isn’t always in the same spot. This year, it’s at the Village at Newtown South on South Eagle Road, in the same shopping center as the Newtown Farmers’ Market.

“People come and make the effort because it isn’t the easiest to find Hanukkah stuff,” Shemtov said.

Local members of the Jewish faith come year after year to make use of the shop and Shemtov even knows a lot of the regulars, embracing many of them as they enter and exchange greetings.

For the past 10 years, the wonderland has been somewhere in Newtown, but it started in Yardley. In it’s execution, the shop is very similar to the pop ups around Halloween and the ones for Christmas.

Shemtov noted the store is the only one in the area.

Throughout the season, the wonderland has held a toy drive for specific families and hosts activities for kids and families leading up to and through Hanukkah.

On Sunday, December 25, the wonderland will be hosting free activities from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Shemtov stated.

“The most important thing is that the kids can come and feel like they have a place to celebrate,” the manager said.

The wonderland is open until Friday, December 30.