It happens every year. You’re looking at your calendar in late autumn, maybe smelling the faint scent of pumpkin spice still lingering, and you realize you have no clue when the "Festival of Lights" actually begins. You ask a friend. They aren't sure. You check Google, and the date looks... early. Or maybe it looks incredibly late. If you've ever wondered when does Hanukkah start and why it feels like a moving target, you aren't alone. It’s not just you being forgetful.
The date literally shifts.
The Hebrew calendar is a lunar-solar hybrid. That means it’s juggling the phases of the moon with the orbit of the earth around the sun. It’s a mathematical headache, honestly. While the Gregorian calendar (the one on your iPhone) stays fixed at 365 days, the Jewish calendar fluctuates. This results in Hanukkah landing anywhere from late November to late December.
The Lunar Math Behind the Madness
To understand when does Hanukkah start, you have to look at the month of Kislev. In the Jewish calendar, Hanukkah always begins on the 25th of Kislev.
Simple, right? Not really.
A lunar year is roughly 354 days. A solar year is 365. That 11-day gap would eventually cause holidays to drift through the seasons if nobody did anything about it. Imagine Hanukkah in the middle of a blistering July heatwave. To prevent this "seasonal drift," the Jewish calendar adds an entire leap month—Adar II—seven times every 19 years.
It’s a massive correction.
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Because of this constant tug-of-war between the moon and the sun, Hanukkah "roams." Some years, we get "Thanksgivukkah," where the first candle is lit while you’re still finishing the turkey. This famously happened in 2013 and won’t happen again for tens of thousands of years. Other years, like in 2024, the holiday doesn't even start until Christmas Eve.
When Does Hanukkah Start in 2025 and 2026?
If you are planning ahead—maybe booking flights or ordering brisket in bulk—you need the specific dates for the upcoming cycles.
In 2025, the first candle of Hanukkah will be lit on the evening of Sunday, December 14. The holiday will run until the evening of Monday, December 22. It’s a mid-December Hanukkah, which feels "normal" to most people living in the West.
Looking further into 2026, the timing shifts again. Hanukkah will start on the evening of Friday, December 4.
Wait. Why did I say "the evening of"?
This is a huge point of confusion for people who didn't grow up with these traditions. In the Jewish tradition, a day doesn't start at midnight. It starts at sundown. If you see a calendar that says Hanukkah starts on December 15th, the first candle is actually lit on the night of the 14th. You’re basically living half a day ahead of the standard secular clock.
The History: More Than Just Oil
Most people know the story of the oil. The Maccabees reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, found only enough oil to last one day, but it miraculously burned for eight. It’s a great story. It’s why we eat latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts)—basically anything fried in oil is fair game.
But the "when" of the story matters too.
The events took place in the second century BCE. The Hellenistic Greeks, under King Antiochus IV, had outlawed Jewish practices. The Temple had been desecrated. When the Maccabean Revolt finally succeeded, the 25th of Kislev was chosen for the rededication because it was the anniversary of the Temple’s original defilement. It was a deliberate act of reclamation.
Rabbi Irving Greenberg, a prominent scholar, often points out that Hanukkah is uniquely positioned during the darkest time of the year. It’s not a coincidence. Whether you’re looking at it through a spiritual lens or a psychological one, lighting candles when the sun sets at 4:30 PM just makes sense. It's a "counter-environment" to the winter gloom.
Common Misconceptions About the Dates
People often call Hanukkah "Jewish Christmas."
That drives historians and rabbis crazy.
First off, Hanukkah isn't even a "major" religious holiday in the same way Yom Kippur or Passover are. It doesn't have the same strict prohibitions on work. The only reason it became a massive deal in North America is specifically because of its proximity to Christmas. In the early 20th century, Jewish parents wanted their kids to feel the same festive joy their neighbors were experiencing.
So, they leveled up the gift-giving.
Another weird quirk? The spelling. Whether you write "Hanukkah" or "Chanukah," you aren't wrong. It’s a transliteration of the Hebrew word meaning "dedication." Since the first letter is a chet—a sound that doesn't really exist in English (think of a throat-clearing "kh")—everyone just gave up and picked their favorite spelling.
How to Prepare for the Start of the Festival
When you realize when does Hanukkah start, the countdown begins. This isn't just about candles. It’s a logistical operation if you’re doing it right.
The Menorah Check: Dig it out of the attic early. You don't want to realize at 4:00 PM on the first night that your favorite menorah is missing a branch or is still covered in last year's hardened wax. Pro tip: Stick it in the freezer for twenty minutes, and the old wax pops right off.
Candle Inventory: You need 44 candles in total for the full eight nights. Why 44? You light one the first night, two the second, and so on, plus the "helper" candle (the Shamash) every night. Most boxes come with exactly 44, but they are flimsy. Buy two boxes. Trust me.
The Oil Situation: If you’re making latkes, you need more oil than you think. And you need a heavy-duty skillet. Cast iron is the gold standard here.
Potatoes: Do not use waxy potatoes. You want Russets. The starch is what holds the latke together. If you use Red Bliss potatoes, you’re going to end up with a soggy mess that looks like a sad hash brown.
Why the Timing Actually Matters
The shifting date of Hanukkah creates a different "vibe" for the holiday every year.
When it starts in November, it feels like a cozy lead-up to the winter season. It’s separate from the December madness. When it starts late in December, it gets swallowed by the "holiday season" at large.
There is a specific beauty in the 25th of Kislev always falling on a different Gregorian date. It forces you to actually pay attention to the calendar. You can’t just go on autopilot. You have to look up, check the moon, and realize that time isn't just a straight line of numbers—it’s a cycle.
Actionable Steps for the Upcoming Holiday
Knowing the date is only half the battle. To make the most of the festival, especially given the varying start times in 2025 and 2026, you should act on these specifics:
- Sync Your Digital Calendar: Don't rely on your memory. Manually add "First Candle of Hanukkah" to your phone for the next two years. Set the alert for "Day Before" so you aren't rushing to the store for potatoes at the last minute.
- Order Supplies in the "Off-Season": High-quality candles (the beeswax ones that don't drip) often sell out a week before the holiday starts. Buy them in October.
- Plan the Menu Around the Date: If Hanukkah starts early (like in 2026), you might still have access to late-harvest apples for your applesauce. If it's late (like in 2024), focus on heavier, winter-ready sides.
- Coordinate the "Night Five" Party: Traditionally, the fifth night is when many families throw their biggest bash because it’s usually the "peak" of the light before it winds down. Check the day of the week for Night Five (in 2025, that's a Thursday night) and plan your gathering accordingly.
The shifting nature of the holiday is a feature, not a bug. It reminds us that while the world follows one clock, traditions often follow another. Whether it’s an early November surprise or a late December finale, the flicker of the first candle always signals the same thing: the dedication to keeping a light burning, even when the math seems complicated.
Make sure you have your Russet potatoes peeled and your 44 candles accounted for before the sun dips below the horizon on that first evening.