Rivlin to Russian speakers: Thanks to you we have another holiday

“With the ending of Hanukkah, the festival of light,” he said, “we have a new holiday of lights.”

The ultimate decider: President Reuven Rivlin (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The ultimate decider: President Reuven Rivlin
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
President Reuven Rivlin released a video on social media on Tuesday in which he wished a happy New Year to Russian speakers in Israel who celebrate Novy God [New Year's].
“With the end of Hanukkah, the festival of light,” he said, “we have a new holiday of lights.”
Rivlin described the holiday as family and friends-oriented and that “missing what was is in no way a challenge to the new life here in your new home.”
Israelis, Russian speakers and Hebrew speakers alike, began to enjoy Western-oriented holidays such as Halloween and New Year's Eve in recent years.