Hanukkah (or “Hanukkah” if you prefer; this is a transliteration, so there is no “correct” spelling) is an annual eight-day Jewish religious holiday, usually held in late November or early December. In 2025, Hanukkah will begin on the evening of Sunday, December 14th and will last until Monday, December 22nd.
Why does Hanukkah fall on a different date every year?
Although Hanukkah falls on a different date each year on the Gregorian calendar, which you are probably familiar with, on the Hebrew calendar it begins on the same day every year: the 25th of Kislev. The Jewish calendar is based on the moon, and Hanukkah falls on the 25th day after the new moon, which marks the beginning of the month of Kislev.
What does Hanukkah have to do with it?
Hanukkah celebrates the anniversary of the beginning of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire and the rededication of the Second Temple, which occurred in the 2nd century BC. This is a strict definition of a holiday. In practice, in modern America, Hanukkah is the “festival of lights,” a winter holiday typically marked by gifts, delicious food, candle lighting, and a boring game of dreidel (more on that below).
From a religious perspective, Hanukkah is a relatively minor holiday, not nearly as important as the Jewish holidays Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but it is a favorite holiday among children, especially American children. These days, the holiday is celebrated in Jewish communities around the world, but Jewish children in the United States are the undisputed kings and queens of Hanukkah.
The Origins of Hanukkah: The Jewish Revolt Brought by the Rabbis of Cincinnati
There are two ways to think about the origins of the Festival of Lights. We can say that Hanukkah began around 200 BC. BC, when Greek leaders did not allow Jews to practice their religion, leading to the Maccabean rebellion in defiance. Or you could say that Hanukkah began in Cincinnati.
Until a couple of hundred years ago, there are no records of anyone celebrating Hanukkah—they may have done so, but no one seems to have paid much attention to it. That all changed in the mid-to-late 1800s when a pair of Cincinnati rabbis, Isaac M. Wise and Max Lilienthal, established Hanukkah on the holiday map. They popularized, promoted, and Americanized the holiday, introducing Hanukkah to their communities and promoting it in national Jewish publications.
Wise and Lilienthal were leaders of Reform Judaism, a more modern, less orthodox form of religion, and to some extent the holiday they popularized reflects this set of values. The purpose of the event was to help Jewish children in America honor their heritage by presenting an exciting and memorable historical event featuring Jewish heroes. it was also supposed to be like Christmas – a fun family holiday.
Lilienthal noted the growing popularity of Christmas celebrations in the United States in the 1800s and was impressed by how Christian churches used the secular aspects of the holiday to teach their faith, so he borrowed the gift-giving and light-hearted nature of non-religious Christmas celebrations and gave them a Jewish twist. Thus, modern Hanukkah was born.
“We also have to do something to revive our children… [They] there will be a great and glorious holiday of Hanukkah, which will be better than any Christmas holiday.” Lilienthal wrote in 1876..
Hanukkah Traditions: You've Been Wrong About the Menorah Your Whole Life
The main event of Hanukkah for most celebrants is the lighting of candles before dinner, with one more for each subsequent night of the holiday. When the Maccabees rebuilt the temple of old, they relit the menorahs—candlesticks that held seven candles—but they only had enough oil to keep the candles burning for one night (or so the story goes). Miraculously, the light stayed on for eight nights.
Technically, most people don't light a menorah on Hanukkah. The menorah has eight lights. Hanukkah candles are usually used in the “hanukkiah” which holds nine: eight main candles and an auxiliary candle that illuminates them all.
As for food, you can eat whatever you want – this is not a Lenten holiday. Fried foods, especially latkes (fried potato pancakes), are popular and delicious, especially when served with sour cream and/or applesauce. Jelly donuts are another favorite. But like I said, you can eat whatever you want.
What are your thoughts so far?
Many Hanukkah leaders also give gifts, one for each night.
Why aren't there as many classic Hanukkah songs as there are Christmas standards?
Hanukkah hymns never caught on because Jewish songwriters had a golden age. were busy writing “Let It Snow,” “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” “Silver Bells,” “White Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and just about every other Christmas song that isn't a carol. But there is”I have a little dreidela folk song with English lyrics attributed to Samuel E. Goldfarb, but not specifically about the holiday. As a result, Adam Sandler's “Hanukkah Song” remains the most famous tune dedicated to the Festival of Lights.
Speaking of dreidels…
How to play dreidel?
Many households take out dreidels (tops with Hebrew characters) and play with them for a few minutes after dinner. Dreidels are designated by the letters Nun (נ), Gimel (ג), Hey (ה) and Shin (ש), which form the abbreviation “Nes Gadol Haya Sham(A great miracle happened there). Here's how the game is traditionally played: Everyone starts with the same amount of something “valuable”, usually chocolate coins. At the start of the round, everyone places a bet, then takes turns spinning the dreidel, following the directions for which character it will land on.
-
SAL (NO) ground”Nicheor “nothing.” The player does nothing if Nun appears.
-
ה (Hey) means “bador “half”. The player receives half the pot. (If there are an odd number of figures, the player receives an extra one.)
-
ש (Shin) means “shtelor “insert”. The player adds a chocolate coin to the pot.
-
ג (Gimel) means “ganz” or “all”. The player receives everything in the bank. Jackpot!
(This is not a very good game: all luck, no skill.)
It is widely believed that dreidel is the most popular Hanukkah game, but this is false. The most popular (and best) Hanukkah game is “guess which candle will go out last,” a much more subtle and fun game played by everyone who has ever lit a menorah (sorry, Chanukkiah) before dinner. Do dark candles burn faster than light candles? Does placement matter? What about the wick length? All this and much more needs to be considered and discussed if you are going to master this exciting game.
Is it cool to celebrate Hanukkah if you're not Jewish?
You can celebrate any holiday you want; this is a free country. Hanukkah is generally viewed as a “fun” holiday without the deep religious significance of other Jewish holidays. While I don't speak for anyone else, none of the Jews I know are offended if non-Jews want to light candles and watch 8 crazy nights to capture some of the magic of Hanukkah. In any case, some holiday traditions were partly inspired by Christmas, and much of Christmas was (arguably) borrowed from the pagan solstice celebration itself, so go crazy – it's the holidays.
