PEABODY — Even before Hanukkah began at sundown Saturday, there was already a lot of light on a quiet hill in Peabody. At Aviv Centers for Living, a Jewish-sponsored elderly complex where nearly 300 people live, reminders of the holiday of lights were everywhere.

“This is my second family,” said Ruth Silverman, 97, as she held a latke (potato pancake), and looked out at about 200 people gathered in a function room earlier that week. Silverman grew up in Mattapan and now lives at Aviv. She tapped her hand to the music, and then slowly began to smile. “This is wonderful.”