The lights that line Michigan Avenue have been strung and lit. Shops have tuned their sound systems to holiday music. The horses downtown pull carriages with jingle bells tied to their collars.

It seems like everybody is geared for Christmastime.

But for many Chicagoans, stockings won’t be hung by the chimney.

Instead, Menorahs will be lit, latkes will be cooked and the Festival of Lights will be underway.

Sundown on Dec. 21 marks the beginning of the eight-day Hanukkah celebration, and Chicago’s own Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 610 S. Michigan Ave., is expecting a large turnout for its many planned activities.

Events at the Spertus include a four-session lunchtime mini-course beginning Dec. 8 called The Making of Hanukkah, a potato pancake “throw down” with local Wolfgang Puck chef Laura Frankel, the Something Else! Community Festival and the revealing of renowned metal artist Michael Aram’s Pomegranate Menorah.

All of the events are open to the public, Jewish or gentile. The lunchtime mini-course on Dec. 8, 15 and 22 explores how the Hanukkah festival has evolved over the centuries via theological, mystical, political and cultural significance from the time of the Maccabees to now.

The executive chef for Wolfgang Puck will join in the Dec. 14 latke cook-off and Bobby ‘Circus Boy’ Hunt, Ballet Folklorico and Rope Warrior will entertain at the Something Else! celebration on Dec. 25.

Susan Baum, media relations manager at Spertus, said she is excited for the upcoming holiday season at the Institute.

“It’s a great way to spend the day here at Spertus, lots of performers and music and children’s entertainment,” Baum said. “What else can you do when everything else is closed?”

One Chicago Jewish community member, Rabbi Paul Saiger, executive director of Hillels of Illinois, said the Spertus is a great place to hold these events.

“It’s one of the major Jewish cultural institutions of Chicago,” Saiger said. “It is the only major Jewish museum in Chicago, it is an educational enterprise and has a major library.”

He also said Spertus is a cultural, educational and artistic resource in the community that Jewish and non-Jewish organizations can contact or interact with when they think it can be of help in organizing events. Saiger said Hillel-a national group that works with Jewish campus chapters-has not worked with Spertus much but is looking forward to possibly collaborating in the future.

Anna Zeitlin, a senior film student and president of Columbia’s Hillel chapter, said the club doesn’t work with Spertus very much either, but she agreed that more teamwork between them would

be beneficial.

“It’s such a cool building, and it’s right there, so it would be neat if there was more involvement between the two,” Zeitlin said. “A lot of times it’s hard to get people [to visit] because they see it as something that’s only for Jews, but we really welcome anyone.”

Columbia’s Hillel chapter helped celebrate the season early with the Green Menorah contest that took place on Dec. 4. The competition was an effort to make the best Menorah from recycled materials in which winners received $100 to $500 in prize money.

Zeitlin described the Columbia Jewish community as a laid back group of people who aren’t necessarily Synagogue-bound every week but are simply looking for other people who come from similar backgrounds to celebrate the holidays together.

The Spertus Institute and Columbia aren’t the only places in Chicago to celebrate Hanukkah.

The Chicago Botanic Garden, in Glencoe, Ill., will host a Hanukkah dinner on Dec. 22 where visitors are invited to tour the “Wonderland Express,” a 10,000 square foot exhibit with tiny trains weaving throughout 60 miniature Chicago landmarks, waterfalls, holiday trees and more. The dinner includes Jewish cultural foods such as cedar planked salmon, slow-roasted beef brisket, potato latke, ginger carrot salad, decorated dradle cookies and rugalach for $28.95.

Holiday partygoers can visit Club 1948 on Dec. 24 for a Hanukkah party that includes cocktails, a DJ spinning Israeli music and Tel Aviv-based musician J. Viewz.

For more information on the Spertus Hanukkah celebration, visit Spertus.edu. For details on the Botanic Garden dinner and Club 1948 party, visit Chicago-Botanic.org and MyClub1948.com.