Children shrieked and chased each other through the passageway beneath the Mosaic District towering Christmas tree, while a trio of cantors from Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church led a small crowd in festive Hanukkah songs such as “I am a Latke.”

The Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia hosted a “Light Up the Night Community Menorah Lighting” in the center of the Fairfax outdoor shopping and cultural center on Dec. 13 at sundown.

Families ate holiday donuts (sufganiyot), played with dreidels and worked on Hanukkah-themed crafts before several area rabbis and temple leaders lit each of the electronic candles on the Mosaic District menorah.