Hanukkah is an eight-day festival that’s celebrated by millions around the world. With its numerous customs, such as the lighting of the menorah, it brings joy and happiness to communities everywhere. But what determines when Hanukkah falls each year? Hanukkah dates are based on the Jewish calendar, a lunar calendar with a different pattern than the solar calendar used in the rest of the world.
Hanukkah dates are determined by the “lunisolar” Hebrew calendar, which is a combination of lunar and solar events. The calendar is designed such that every month starts with the new moon, and the number of days in the month depends on the appearance of the new moon. This means that each month can range from 29 to 30 days long.Hanukkah starts on day 25 of the Jewish month of Kislev. The Jewish calendar is tied to the cycle of the sun, so the length of the months varies depending on the time of the year. The months of October, November and December line up almost perfectly with Kislev, Tevet and Shevat in the Hebrew calendar. Since the dates tend to move backward from year to year, they don’t necessarily fall on the same day in the Gregorian (civil) calendar from year to year.
Because this displacement of dates is so varied, Hanukkah can fall anywhere between late November and late December on the Gregorian calendar. In general, Hanukkah will start on the evening of the 24th day of the Hebrew month Kislev. This means that Hanukkah can begin on any day from Sunday to Thursday.
In addition, the timing of Hanukkah also depends on the sighting of the new moon and the determination of the first day of a month. If the new moon is sighted late, Hanukkah can be delayed by one or even two days. If the waxing crescent moon is sighted late, the rest of the Hanukkah celebration and festivities have to be moved forward one or two days.
Overall, the dates of Hanukkah depend primarily on the Hebrew lunisolar calendar. When the moon does not appear in the night sky until the evening of the 24th of Kislev, Hanukkah will be delayed for one or two days. This makes it so that the dates of Hanukkah do not always coincide with the same weekend or the same date in the Gregorian calendar. However, no matter the dates, Hanukkah remains a time for families to come together, celebrate, and light the candles on the menorah.
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Last update 2023-11-27. Price and product availability may change.