Hanukkah 2026

What is Hanukkah?

Hanukkah 2026 begins at sunset on Friday 4 December 2026 and ends at nightfall on Saturday 12 December 2026. Hanukkah always starts on the 25th day of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar and lasts eight nights, so the Gregorian dates move each year; the 2026 dates are confirmed by Hebcal and other Jewish calendar sources.

Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, is the Jewish Festival of Lights. It commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the second century BCE after the Maccabees’ victory over the Seleucid empire, and the tradition that a single day’s supply of oil for the Temple menorah burned for eight days. Each night families light one more candle on a nine-branched hanukkiah, using the central helper candle, the shamash, and place it in a window.

The festival is marked at home rather than mainly in the synagogue. Traditions include foods fried in oil such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jam doughnuts), the spinning-top game dreidel, songs, and small gifts or chocolate coins (gelt) for children. A clear introduction to the festival and its dates is available from Hebcal, Reform Judaism and My Jewish Learning.

Why it matters

Hanukkah is the Jewish festival most visible to non-Jewish neighbours because it falls in the darkest part of the year, often close to Christmas, but it is a minor festival in religious terms and is not a “Jewish Christmas”. For schools, workplaces and brands it is an opportunity to recognise Jewish colleagues, pupils and customers accurately, to learn a little about Jewish history and to include the festival in winter celebrations without merging it with other traditions. In 2026 the first candle is lit on a Friday evening, which coincides with the start of Shabbat, so candles are lit before the Shabbat candles that night.

For schools: assembly, classroom and PTA ideas

Hanukkah usually sits with the RE lead or the head of year, with input from Jewish families where the school has them. Because the dates shift, check them in September and plan for the first week of December in 2026.

• Assembly: tell the story of the Maccabees and the oil, and show how a hanukkiah is lit, adding one candle per night.
• Assembly: invite a Jewish parent, pupil or local rabbi to explain how their family celebrates.
• Classroom: an RE lesson comparing festivals of light, including Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas, and what light symbolises in each.
• Classroom: make paper dreidels and learn the Hebrew letters and the rules of the game, with a maths link on probability.
• Whole school: a winter festivals display in the hall with a hanukkiah alongside other traditions, updated each day of the festival.
• Parents and PTA: a latke or doughnut tasting at a winter fair, with recipes shared by families.

Ideas for brands and organisations

• Include Hanukkah in seasonal greetings with the correct dates and spelling, and avoid Christmas imagery on Hanukkah messages.
• Allow flexible hours for staff who want to be home for candle lighting at sunset.
• Stock or feature kosher, festival-appropriate products such as candles, dreidels and gelt.
• Share a short, accurate explainer of the festival for staff or customers, written with Jewish colleagues.