Among them was Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who said that she was honored to attend the ceremony and noted that in the past 40 years there had only been one other "Chrismukkah" where both holidays fell on the same day.

"We are very excited that, once again, the coinciding of multiple communities reminds us of all that we share," Wu said. "This is such an important and critical part of what makes Boston, Boston."

Wu, who is due to give birth to her third child, a girl, in January, said she had special clearance from her doctor to attend the ceremony but wasn't able to go up the lift to light the candle this year. Instead, she passed the torch to Boston Fire Commissioner Paul F. Burke. Still, she encouraged everyone in attendance to light their own light in their own way.

"The Jewish faith reminds us always, that to bring that light into any space, spreads it," Wu said. "And as we each make the decision to refuse to let our own light be put out, I would say at this hour, at this moment, that is more important than ever."

Rabbi Yosef Zaklos, director of Chabad of Downtown Boston, said that the lighting of the Menorah sends a message of light, liberty, and positivity in the city, and that it's "symbolic of everything that good and upstanding citizens stand for."

"I think it really speaks to the message of and the importance of the message, especially at a time like today," Zaklos said. "There's a lot of challenges [and] darkness in the world as a whole, [and] for the Jewish community this has not been an easy time."

Zaklos noted that there has been a significant rise in antisemitism recently and that Wednesday's event was a chance for the city to come together.

Each night officials will light a new candle, until all eight are lighted, Zaklos said.

Eyal Abadi, 26 of Jamaica Plain, immigrated to the United States 13 years ago and was celebrating the Menorah lighting in Boston for the first time.

"Back in Venezuela there used to be this same event, but the security was impenetrable," Abadi said. "It was a somewhat dangerous situation, but we still did it proudly. So being able to come here to an open space is really black and white pretty much."

Before the lighting, Abadi said he was looking forward to meeting other members of his community. By the end, he found himself dancing with a group of Jewish students as a band played in the background.

"It looked like they needed to dance, so I had to join them," Abadi said. "Being Jewish just connects everybody, so it felt like I've been dancing with them for years."

Polly Fletcher, who lives in the West End, said the fact that the Jewish community is able to light the Menorah on the Common shows the support the city has for Jewish people, along with the state and "the wonderful country we live in."

Fletcher attended the ceremony with her dog Pepper, a nine-and-a-half year old Maltese mix. She said that Pepper likes to attend events like the Menorah lighting and loves music.