Amsterdam  - Amsterdam's mayor Job Cohen was due to light a Jewish chandelier on Tuesday, marking the third day of the Jewish Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah.

The festive lighting of the so-called Hanukkiah, or Hanukkah Menorah, which is three metres tall and one-and-a-half metres wide, was due to take place at 6 pm (1700 GMT) at the central Dam Square in Amsterdam.

At least 600 people were expected to attend the festive ceremony.

The public lighting is part of a global lighting campaign organized each year by the Jewish Orthodox outreach movement Chabad-Lubavich.

Other Hanukkiah lighting ceremonies are scheduled to take place in Washington, Paris, Moscow, New York, Berlin, Milan, Brussels, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Bangkok and Melbourne.

Public lightings have taken place for several years in at least four Dutch cities with substantial Jewish communities.

But this year marks only the second time a public lighting ceremony takes place at Amsterdam's most central square.

Hanukkah commemorates the successful revolt 2,000 years ago of the Jewish Maccabeans against the Assyrian king Antioch, who prohibited the Jewish religion in his empire.

The Maccabeans restored Jewish sovereignty over Judaea, which brought back the freedom to practise Judaism.

During the eight-day festival of Hanukkah, Jews light the eight-candle chandelier, or menorah, starting with one candle on the first day and adding one each day.

In most countries of the Jewish diaspora, Jews also give each other presents during the holiday.

The outreach Chabad-Lubavich movement which coordinates the global lighting campaign, made global headlines in November when terrorists raided its Mumbai centre, killing the rabbi, his wife and several others inside the building. (dpa)