Hanukkah Celebration: Nature’s Wonderous Lights in Darkness

Hanukkah, also commonly Chanukah, is an eight-day Festival of Lights celebrated by many people around the world in early winter. There are many different customs, but always at the heart of the festival is lighting candles or lamps each night to symbolize a miracle of light. Jewish Americans today traditionally often use nine-branched menorahs with eight candles and a ninth called the shamash (translated to helper, server, or attendant) used to light the others.

History and traditions of Hanukkah are preserved in many national parks. In the spirit of Hanukkah, here are eight incredible light displays and a helper in nature that you can witness.

The Nothern Lights over Voyageurs National Park

NPS / Lavoie

Northern Lights

The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, dance across the night sky during winter months delighting many park visitors. They are usually more visible in parks in northern latitudes during winter when the days are shorter.

By the winter solstice at Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, the sun will remain low on the horizon, rising and setting in less than four hours. Then slowly rise higher and each day.

NPS Photo

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is celebrated by many cultures as the return of daylight. Days become shorter as the solstice draws near, with some northernmost parks experiencing an eternal night with little to no sunlight. As the solstice passes, days slowly start to become longer.

A rare super moon lunar eclipse at Joshua Tree National Park

NPS / Brad Sutton

Lunar Eclipses

Partial and full lunar eclipses can happen any time of year but are always special to witness. As the moon moves into the Earth’s shadow, it appears as if it is being swallowed in darkness. It can be a wondrous sight as the “light of the moon” slowly begins to return to illuminate the night sky again.

On a dark night at Padre Island National Seashore, the waves glow a bright blue as they approach the shore.

NPS Photo

Bioluminescence

Some of the smallest creatures can have the brightest glow. Chemical reactions within some organisms, especially in marine environments, release energy that create a glowing light. In national parks along the ocean in the Southeast, it is not uncommon at night to see waves rolling on the shore appearing a bright blue-green color.

Synchronous fireflies at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

NPS Photo

Synchronous Fireflies

Fireflies, also called lightning bugs, are also bioluminescent. They delight people by blinking greenish-yellow, blue, or white light at night. A few species in North America can synchronize with each other in large groups to flash at the same time resulting in a dazzling light show.

Fog creeps into the cave as visitors reenter the daylight.

NPS Photo

Twilight Zones

Beyond the twilight zones of caves is one of the few places in the world where you can experience true total darkness. The complete absence of light causes some people’s minds to create images of what it thinks it sees. The smallest amount of light appears brighter underground. Emerging from the cave, light begins to trickle in at the twilight zone.

A moonbow at Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Conservancy

Moonbows

Just as the light of the sun can create rainbows, the light from the moon can create lunar rainbows, or moonbows, when it refracts off water drops in the air. Moonbows are usually much fainter as the light reflected off the moon is less than the sun’s light during the day. But when seen, moonbows are magical to witness.

A rainbow-colored sundog pillar appearing at Denali National Park & Preserve

NPS / Tim Rains

Light Pillars

Light pillars are known by many names, including sun pillars, sundogs, pantheon, or mock sun. These impressive vertical shafts of light can happen at sunrise or sundown as the darkness of night is slowing creeping in or retreating. The sun’s rays reflect off of ice crystals floating in the air creating a dramatic effect.

While many stars move in the night sky, the North Star appears to remain in the same place, like the view in Natural Bridges National Monument.

NPS Jacob W. Frank

The North Star

The North Star, or Polaris, rests almost exactly above the Earth’s celestial north pole along the planet’s rotation. This gives it the appearance that it stays in the same place in the night sky while other stars and constellations move. It has been a guide for many to find their way at night for centuries, including explorers, mariners, and freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad.