The dates, the night the first candle is lit, and why the holiday starts the evening before.
Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, 2026 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12, 2026.
The first candle is lit on the evening of Friday, December 4. Jewish holidays begin at sunset on the evening before the calendar date, so the first full day of Hanukkah is Saturday, December 5.
Hanukkah runs eight nights. One candle is added each evening, so all eight are burning on the last night, Friday, December 11, 2026.
Because December 4 falls on a Friday in 2026, the Hanukkah candles that first night are lit before the Shabbat candles — that is, before sunset rather than after nightfall.
| Year | First candle, evening of | Eighth candle, evening of | Holiday ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday, December 4, 2026 | Friday, December 11, 2026 | Nightfall, Saturday, December 12, 2026 |
| 2027 | Friday, December 24, 2027 | Friday, December 31, 2027 | Nightfall, Saturday, January 1, 2028 |
| 2028 | Tuesday, December 12, 2028 | Tuesday, December 19, 2028 | Nightfall, Wednesday, December 20, 2028 |
| 2029 | Saturday, December 1, 2029 | Saturday, December 8, 2029 | Nightfall, Sunday, December 9, 2029 |
| 2030 | Friday, December 20, 2030 | Friday, December 27, 2030 | Nightfall, Saturday, December 28, 2030 |
Dates confirmed against the Hebrew calendar.
Hanukkah 2027 is the latest of the five. It begins at sundown on Friday, December 24, 2027 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, January 1, 2028 — the eighth candle is lit on the evening of Friday, December 31, and the last day of the holiday is New Year's Day.
Hanukkah 2028 is the earliest, and the only one of the five that starts midweek: sundown on Tuesday, December 12, 2028 through nightfall on Wednesday, December 20, with the eighth candle on the evening of Tuesday, December 19. Nothing complicates the first night that year — the candles are simply lit after dark.
Hanukkah 2029 begins at sundown on Saturday, December 1, 2029 and ends at nightfall on Sunday, December 9. Its first night is the awkward one: because Saturday is Shabbat, the first candle is not lit at sundown but after Shabbat has ended. The eighth candle falls on the evening of Saturday, December 8, with the same rule.
Hanukkah 2030 begins at sundown on Friday, December 20, 2030 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 28, with the eighth candle on the evening of Friday, December 27. As in 2026 and 2027, the first night is an erev Shabbat, so the Hanukkah candles go up before the Shabbat candles.
On the Hebrew calendar the date never changes. Hanukkah starts on the 25th of Kislev and runs eight days, every year without exception.
The Hebrew calendar is lunisolar. Its months follow the moon, which makes the year about eleven days shorter than the solar year, so a leap month is added seven times in every nineteen-year cycle to keep the calendar in step with the seasons. Set against the Gregorian calendar, that arithmetic is what makes Hanukkah appear to wander — but it always falls between late November and late December.
The swing is wider than people expect. Hanukkah 2028 starts on December 12 and is finished before the week of Christmas; Hanukkah 2027 does not start until December 24 and runs past New Year's, ending on January 1, 2028. Hanukkah 2029 is earlier still, beginning on December 1. Which is why a page like this one is worth more than a memory of last year.
A Hebrew day begins at sunset, not at midnight. So 25 Kislev 5787 begins when the sun goes down on December 4, 2026, and continues through the daylight of December 5.
This is the single most common point of confusion, and it is worth being precise about: a calendar that prints "Hanukkah: December 5–12" and a calendar that prints "Hanukkah: December 4–12" are describing the same eight days. The first is listing full Hebrew days; the second is listing from the first candle. If you are lighting, cooking, hosting or attending, the evening of Friday, December 4 is the one to put in the calendar.
In the second century BCE, Judea was under Seleucid Greek rule, and under Antiochus IV the practice of Judaism was suppressed and the Temple in Jerusalem was desecrated. A revolt led by Judah Maccabee and his family retook the city, and in 164 BCE the Temple was cleansed and rededicated. Hanukkah means dedication.
The Talmud adds the detail most people know: that only one small jar of consecrated oil was found, enough for a single day, and that it burned for eight. That account is why the holiday is eight nights long, why light is at the center of it, and why almost everything eaten during it is fried in oil.
In the structure of the Jewish year, Hanukkah is a minor festival. Work is permitted, ordinary life continues, and it carries none of the obligations that Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur or Passover do. Its unusually high profile in the United States has as much to do with the December calendar as with the holiday itself — a point Jewish writers make about it regularly.
A nine-branched candelabrum: eight lights for the eight nights plus the shamash, the "attendant," which is used to light the others and never counted among them. One candle the first night, two the second, and so on. Candles are set in the hanukkiah from right to left and lit from left to right, newest first, with blessings said before lighting.
The hanukkiah is traditionally set in a window or doorway so the light is visible from outside — the point is public, not private. It is lit after nightfall and should burn at least half an hour, except on Friday, when it is lit before the Shabbat candles, and Saturday night, when it is lit after Shabbat ends.
Latkes, potato pancakes fried and served with applesauce or sour cream, and sufganiyot, jam-filled doughnuts. Both are fried, and that is the whole point of them — the oil is the reference.
A four-sided spinning top marked with the Hebrew letters nun, gimel, hey and shin, standing for nes gadol hayah sham — "a great miracle happened there." On dreidels made in Israel the last letter is pey, for po, "here." It is played for a pot of coins, nuts or chocolate.
Hanukkah gelt means money, and historically small sums were given to children and to teachers. The foil-wrapped chocolate coins now sold everywhere are a descendant of that. Wrapped presents on some or all eight nights are a much more recent, largely American, addition.
Al HaNissim, a paragraph of thanks "for the miracles," is added to daily prayers and to grace after meals through the eight days, and the full Hallel, a set of psalms of praise, is recited each morning.
All of them are correct. The word is חֲנֻכָּה — dedication — and its first letter, chet, is a sound English does not have. Every English spelling is an approximation, which is why you will see the holiday written half a dozen ways, sometimes on the same page. Hanukkah and Chanukah are the two most common in the United States.
Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, 2026 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12, 2026. The first candle is lit on the evening of Friday, December 4, and the eighth on the evening of Friday, December 11.
In the Hebrew calendar a day begins at sunset rather than at midnight. Hanukkah starts on 25 Kislev, and 25 Kislev begins at sundown on December 4 in 2026. That is why some calendars list Hanukkah as December 5 to 12 and others as December 4 to 12: one is counting full days, the other is counting from the first candle. If you are lighting candles or attending, the evening of December 4 is the one that matters.
Usually after nightfall, and they should burn for at least half an hour. There are two exceptions. On a Friday the Hanukkah candles are lit before the Shabbat candles, which means before sunset — this applies to the first night in 2026, since December 4 is a Friday. On a Saturday night they are lit after Shabbat has ended.
Eight. One candle is lit on the first night and one more is added each evening, so all eight are burning on the final night. A ninth candle, the shamash, sits apart and is used to light the others.
It does not change on the Hebrew calendar — Hanukkah always begins on 25 Kislev. The Hebrew calendar is lunisolar: months follow the moon, and a leap month is inserted seven times in every nineteen years to keep the year in step with the seasons. Against the Gregorian calendar this makes the date shift, but it always lands between late November and late December.
No. Hanukkah marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the second century BCE and has no connection to Christmas beyond falling in the same part of the year. In religious terms it is a minor festival: work is permitted throughout, and it carries none of the obligations of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur or Passover. Its prominence in American life owes a good deal to the December calendar.
Hanukkah 2027 begins at sundown on Friday, December 24, 2027 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, January 1, 2028. The first candle is lit on the evening of Friday, December 24, and the eighth on the evening of Friday, December 31.
Hanukkah 2028 begins at sundown on Tuesday, December 12, 2028 and ends at nightfall on Wednesday, December 20, 2028. The first candle is lit on the evening of Tuesday, December 12, and the eighth on the evening of Tuesday, December 19.
Hanukkah 2029 begins at sundown on Saturday, December 1, 2029 and ends at nightfall on Sunday, December 9, 2029. Because the first night falls on a Saturday, the first candle is lit after Shabbat has ended rather than at sundown; the eighth candle is lit on the evening of Saturday, December 8.
Hanukkah 2030 begins at sundown on Friday, December 20, 2030 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 28, 2030. The first candle is lit on the evening of Friday, December 20, before the Shabbat candles, and the eighth on the evening of Friday, December 27.
Both are correct. They are transliterations of the Hebrew word חֲנֻכָּה, meaning dedication. The first Hebrew letter has no exact English equivalent, which is why the spelling varies; Hanukkah and Chanukah are the two most common forms in the United States.
Hanukkah gelt — coins, and now usually chocolate coins — is the older custom. Giving wrapped gifts on some or all eight nights is largely an American development, and how much families do it varies widely.
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