Hanukkah begins at sundown on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar and lasts eight nights. On the everyday calendar that usually means a start date between late November and late December, and it shifts from year to year. The upcoming dates are listed below, followed by how to light each night, the special Shabbat rules, and why the date moves.
When Are the Upcoming Hanukkah Dates?
Verified against Hebcal. Each listing gives the evening the first candle is lit and the day the holiday ends at nightfall:
- First candle Friday, December 4, 2026: ends at nightfall Saturday, December 12, 2026.
- First candle Friday, December 24, 2027: ends at nightfall Saturday, January 1, 2028. It lands on Christmas Eve that year.
- First candle Tuesday, December 12, 2028: ends at nightfall Wednesday, December 20, 2028.
Our Hanukkah holiday page keeps the current candle-by-candle table, and exact sundown and nightfall times depend on where you live, so check a local candle-lighting calendar such as Hebcal for your city.
What Does Hanukkah Celebrate?
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, commemorates two things at once: the Maccabees' victory over the Seleucid Greek empire in the second century BCE, and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem that followed, when a single day's supply of oil reportedly burned for eight. Eight nights, eight candles, one for each night the oil was said to last. It is a relatively minor holiday in Jewish religious law, nowhere near the weight of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, or Passover, but it has become one of the most widely recognized Jewish holidays in America, largely because of its place on the December calendar.
How Many Candles Do You Light Each Night?
- Night 1: 1 candle plus the shamash.
- Night 2: 2 candles plus the shamash.
- Night 3: 3 candles plus the shamash.
- Night 4: 4 candles plus the shamash.
- Night 5: 5 candles plus the shamash.
- Night 6: 6 candles plus the shamash.
- Night 7: 7 candles plus the shamash.
- Night 8: 8 candles plus the shamash.
Across all eight nights you use 44 candles in total, shamash included, so it is worth stocking up before the first night.
Why Does Hanukkah Fall on a Different Date Every Year?
Hanukkah's Hebrew date never moves. It begins on the 25th of Kislev every single year, without exception. What moves is the Gregorian date, and that is a feature of how the Hebrew calendar is built, not an inconsistency.
The Hebrew calendar is lunisolar. Its months follow the moon, each running 29 or 30 days, which adds up to a year of about 354 days, roughly eleven days shorter than the 365 day solar year. Left alone, that drift would eventually push Hanukkah into summer. So the calendar corrects itself by adding a thirteenth leap month, a second Adar, in seven of every nineteen years, a cycle worked out in antiquity and still followed today. That correction is why Hanukkah drifts across a window of roughly late November to late December on our calendar, while staying fixed on 25 Kislev on its own.
It is the same logic behind why Rosh Hashanah and Passover also shift on the Gregorian calendar every year, while always landing on the same Hebrew date. Some years Hanukkah starts as early as the end of November, brushing up against Thanksgiving. Other years it lands right on top of Christmas Eve.
When Should You Light the Candles Each Night?
On an ordinary weeknight, Hanukkah candles are lit after dark, at dusk or nightfall, following your family's custom. The core requirement is that the candles hold enough fuel, at the moment they are lit, to keep burning until at least half an hour after nightfall. Most years, one or two nights of Hanukkah fall on Friday or Saturday, and those nights follow different timing.
What's Different About Lighting on Friday Night?
When a night of Hanukkah falls on Friday, the Hanukkah candles are lit before Shabbat, not after. Since Shabbat candles are traditionally lit shortly before sundown, the Hanukkah candles go first, earlier in the afternoon than usual. Because they are lit earlier but still need to burn thirty minutes past nightfall, many families use larger or longer-burning candles than the standard Hanukkah candle on that night.
What's Different About Lighting on Saturday Night?
When a night of Hanukkah falls on Saturday, the candles are not lit until Shabbat has ended at nightfall. Many families say Havdalah, the short ceremony that closes Shabbat, before lighting the menorah that night. Lighting Hanukkah candles early on a Saturday, before Shabbat is actually over, is not done.
"Hanukkah" or "Chanukah": Does the Spelling Change the Date?
No. Both spellings transliterate the same Hebrew word, which opens with a guttural sound English does not have a letter for. "Hanukkah" is the more common spelling in American English; "Chanukah" sits closer to the Hebrew pronunciation. Searches for "when is Chanukah" and "when is Hanukkah" point to the exact same dates.
Ready for the First Night?
Once you know when to light, the next question is how. Our step-by-step guide to lighting a Hanukkah menorah walks through the shamash, the blessings, and where to place the menorah so it can be seen. And if you still need a menorah or candles, our Hanukkah gift guide has you covered.