WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama lit the White House Menorah on Wednesday (Dec 14), the last such lighting ceremony for the Obamas before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

President Obama joked to an audience in the White House East Room that when he lit the first White House Menorah of his presidency, critics said his administration would last only a year.

"But miracle of miracles, it has lasted eight years," he said to applause. The Obamas were joined by Rabbi Exler of New York's Bronx neighborhood and and family members of Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

Jewish communities across the United States are set to mark Hanukkah with a variety of public events for the eight-day celebration also known as the Festival of Lights.