Hanukkah 2026

About Hanukkah

Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, is the eight-night Jewish festival of lights. It remembers the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the second century BCE. In 2026 the first candle is lit at sundown on the evening before Saturday, 5 December 2026. Families light one more candle each night, eat foods fried in oil and play dreidel.

Hanukkah means "dedication" in Hebrew. It is a minor festival in the religious sense, with no ban on work and no long synagogue services, but it is one of the best loved, because it happens at home, at night, around a row of candles in the window.

Jewish days begin at sunset, so each night of Hanukkah comes before its day. The first candle is lit at sundown as 25 Kislev begins, and the festival lasts eight nights, ending at nightfall on 2 or 3 Tevet. On the everyday calendar that falls anywhere from late November to late December.

The story

In the second century BCE, Judea was ruled by the Seleucid Greek empire. King Antiochus IV banned Jewish practice and turned the Temple in Jerusalem over to Greek worship. In 167 BCE a priestly family, the Maccabees, led by Judah the Maccabee, began a revolt. By late 164 BCE they had retaken Jerusalem, cleaned the Temple and rededicated it with eight days of celebration. The history is told in the First and Second Books of Maccabees, which are not part of the Hebrew Bible.

The best-known part of the story comes later, from the Talmud (Shabbat 21b). It tells that when the Temple was retaken, only one sealed jar of pure oil could be found, enough to light the Temple lamp for a single day. It burned for eight days, long enough to prepare new oil. That is the miracle the candles recall, and the reason so much Hanukkah food is fried.

Lighting the candles

The candleholder is a hanukkiah: nine branches, one for each night plus a helper candle, the shamash, which is used to light the others. It is often called a menorah, but it is different from the seven-branched menorah of the Temple, which is a symbol of Israel and appears on its state emblem.

1. Set upOn the first night, put one candle on the far right of the hanukkiah, plus the shamash in its own place. Add one candle each night, moving left.
2. Light the shamashLight the helper candle first.
3. Say the blessingsTwo blessings every night, over the candles and for the miracles. On the first night only, a third, the Shehecheyanu, thanks God for reaching this time.
4. Light the candlesUse the shamash to light the newest candle, on the left, first, then move right.
5. Let them burnThe candles should burn at least half an hour after nightfall. Many families put the hanukkiah in a window or by the door so it can be seen from the street.

Friday and Saturday change the order, because no fire is kindled on Shabbat. On Friday the Hanukkah candles are lit before the Shabbat candles, before sunset, with longer candles that last into the night. On Saturday they are lit after Shabbat ends. In 2026 the first and last nights are both Fridays, and in 2027 Hanukkah again begins on a Friday evening, so this matters.

Food, the dreidel and gelt

Oil is the theme. Ashkenazi families, with roots in central and eastern Europe, fry latkes, potato pancakes served with apple sauce or sour cream. In Israel the bakeries fill with sufganiyot, jam-filled doughnuts. Sephardi families make bimuelos, fried dough puffs with honey or syrup.

The dreidel is a four-sided spinning top. Its Hebrew letters nun, gimel, hei and shin stand for "nes gadol haya sham", a great miracle happened there. Israeli dreidels swap shin for pe, for "po": a great miracle happened here. Children play for coins, nuts or chocolate gelt, the gold-wrapped chocolate coins. Gelt, Yiddish for money, began as real coins given to children; nightly presents are a newer custom, strongest in North America.

Not Jewish Christmas

Hanukkah often falls near Christmas, and in the US, Canada and the UK it has grown in public view partly for that reason, with menorah lightings in city squares and Hanukkah sections in shops. But the two have nothing to do with each other. Hanukkah is older, it is about a military victory and a Temple, and religiously it ranks well below Passover, Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah. In 2027 Hanukkah begins on Christmas Eve, which is a coincidence of the calendars.

What to write

"Happy Hanukkah" is the standard greeting, and it is fine for anyone to say. In Hebrew, "Chag Hanukkah sameach" means happy Hanukkah, and "Chag urim sameach" means happy festival of lights.

How to wish someone on Hanukkah

A Hanukkah wish is warm and simple: light, family, the candles and the food. \"Happy Hanukkah\" is right from anyone, Jewish or not, and \"Chag sameach\" (happy holiday) is the Hebrew. Mention the candles, the latkes or the time together. Keep Christmas imagery out of it, and don't assume the person is religious; many Jewish families light candles as a family custom rather than a religious duty.

Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.

Language tip: English, Hebrew.

When is Hanukkah in 2026 and 2027?

Hanukkah is set by the Hebrew lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 20 days later than in 2026. Hanukkah runs 8 days.

Frequently asked questions