Looking for new ways to celebrate Hanukkah at home, in your classroom, at work, or with friends? Discover our wide range of resources, including dreidel instructions, menorah and candle blessings, kids activities, coloring pages, recipes and more. Hanukkah is a joyous celebration of victory against persecution, so embrace the fun!
Learn more about Hanukkah
Hanukkah 2026 begins the evening of Sunday, December 4, 2026 and ends the evening of Saturday, December 12, 2026. Hanukkah typically falls in November or December each year, but because Jewish holidays follow the lunar calendar, the date of the holiday on the Gregorian calendar changes each year.
Though Hanukkah isn’t classified as a major Jewish holiday, it is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays. Also known as the Festival of Lights, the 8-day celebration commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it was destroyed in 164 BCE. It also celebrates the burning of a small amount of oil that miraculously burned for eight days.
Hanukkah is typically celebrated at home. Each night the hanukkiah, or nine-branched menorah, is lit and blessings are said. A common tradition is to eat foods fried in oil to commemorate the burning of the miracle oil – think jelly donuts (sufganiyot) and potato pancakes (latkes)! It’s also popular to play the common game of dreidel, and given its close proximity to other winter holidays, it has also become a tradition for many families to exchange gifts on Hanukkah.
Either is correct! Because the word is translated into English from Hebrew, there are several ways to spell Hanukkah. The two most common spellings are Hanukkah and Chanukah, though according to the Oxford Dictionary, there are actually 24 different ways to spell it!
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Featured clips
by Sheikha Ibtisam Mahameed and Rabba Tamar Elad-Appelbaum
This invocation, written by two mothers, one Muslim and one Jewish, invites us to take their plea for peace into our hearts and into the world. It has been shared widely by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie and the Lab/Shul community.
Two mothers, one plea:
Now, more than ever, during these days of so much crying,on the day that is sacred to both our religions, Friday, Sabbath Eve
Let us light a candle in every home – for peace:
A candle to illuminate our future, face to face,
A candle across borders, beyond fear.
From our family homes and houses of worship
Let us light each other up,
Let these candles be a lighthouse to our spirit
Until we all arrive at the sanctuary of peace.
Let Us Light Candles for Peace
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Drinking Dreidel Rules
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Lighting the Candles
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Nuestra Luz: An 8-Day Mediation Experience
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Nuestra Luz: An 8-Day Mediation Experience
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Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife (https://www.keshirahalev.com) offers eight questions to guide us in reflection as we wind down and look ahead to a new secular year. Inspired by the great teacher, Rabbi Shammai, who starts Hanukkah with eight candles lit and ends with just one candle, this ritual invites us to count down and release as we move toward (and embrace) the darkest part of the year.
8) What is something you're ready to leave behind this year?
7) What is something you have less of now than you did at the beginning of the year, that you're glad about?
6) What is a habit, practice, routine or belief that you have released this year?
5) What is an obligation that you were able to lay down this year? Is there something you are secretly glad you didn't have to do?
4) What is something you released that has given new life elsewhere?
3) What is something you're savoring from this past year that is likely to go away or end when this pandemic time is over?
2) With all you've let go of this past year, what has it made room for?
1) What has been the biggest blessing of this time? What do you want to take with you into the new year?
Year-Ending Reflection Questions
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