WATCH: 2020 National Menorah Lighting

FILE — From left, Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Rabbi Abraham Shemtov and National Economic Director Gary Cohn, struggle in the wind holding on to their hats, as they light the Menorah during the annual National Menorah Lighting, in celebration of Hanukkah, on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The National Menorah Lighting happened Thursday, albeit with a few concessions to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 41st annual lighting started at 4 p.m. on The Ellipse.

“This has been an unusual year in many ways, to say the least,” said Rabbi Levi Shemtov, vice president of the American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), which organizes the event. “But the message of Hanukkah endures, as it has for millennia, and though we will have to modify the event this year to address the COVID-19 pandemic, we will nevertheless be proceeding with the event while implementing measures to ensure the safety and comfort of all the participants.”

Watch the lighting via a stream on nationalmenorah.org below.

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