Springfield celebrates Kwanzaa, Hanukkah with candle-lighting ceremonies

SPRINGFIELD — With Christmas in the rearview mirror, members of the African-American community and the Jewish faith each lit candles to kick off their own holidays Thursday. About 40 people gathered inside City Hall in the morning to celebrate the first day of Kwanzaa, called umoja or unity, with music, dancing and the lighting of the first of seven candles signifying each day of the holiday that ends on Jan. 1. Several hours later, dozens of members of the Jewish faith, led by Rabbi Chaim Kosofsky and his brother Noach...