Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish festival filled with traditions and days of celebration. Every year, Jews around the world observe Hanukkah, otherwise known as the ‘Festival of Lights’, and every year, the dates fall on a different day. So why does Hanukkah start on different days each year?
The reason why Hanukkah starts on different days each year is due to the Jewish calendar. Unlike modern day Gregorian calendars, which are controlled by the solar cycle, Jewish calendar is based on a lunar cycle. A lunar month is 28 days, meaning that 12 of them unfold over 354 days, and the order of months changes throughout the course of each year. This means that the dates for major Jewish holidays, such as Hanukkah, do not remain the same.
Hanukkah usually starts at sundown on the 25th day of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, which is the third month of the year. This date can fall anywhere between late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. Since the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, the actual length of a year is slightly shorter than a solar calendar. The year also starts in the month of Tishrei, which is the seventh month in Hebrew and starts around the autumnal equinox. This means that Hanukkah can fall on any day of the week, but will only start on Kislev 25, regardless of the other calendar dates.
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The Jewish Calendar
The Jewish calendar has a slightly different structure to what we have today. It is made up of 12 lunar months, starting with the month of Tishrei and occurring once every 29 or 30 days. This means that each month does not fit neatly into the Gregorian calendar, which is why the date of Hanukkah can change each year.
Calculating the Hebrew Calendar
In order to accurately predict the date of Hanukkah, a special algorithm must be used to determine the day of Kislev 25. This algorithm takes into account the current year, the current month and the current day in the Gregorian calendar. It then works out the number of elapsed days in the Hebrew year, which is then translated into a date on the Jewish calendar.
Why Does Hanukkah Last Eight Days?
The main event of Hanukkah is the lighting of a special nine-branched candelabra, called a Menorah, which is intended to commemorate the miracle of light. According to Judy Simon, a recipe editor for The Spruce Eats, Jewish tradition claims that the temple in Jerusalem had enough oil to keep the temple’s menorah burning for only one day. However, miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days instead, allowing the temple’s menorah to remain alight throughout the eight days of Hanukkah.
Celebrating Hanukkah Around the World
Hanukkah is celebrated in many different ways around the world. Traditional activities include lighting the menorah, playing the game of dreidel, singing traditional songs, and eating latkes, which are small potato pancakes. These activities are enjoyed while families come together, whether in person or online.
The reason why Hanukkah falls on different days each year is due to the structure of the Jewish calendar. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the Jewish calendar is based on the lunar cycle and follows a different order of months. This means that the dates of major Jewish holidays, such as Hanukkah, will change depending on the year. Despite its changing dates, Hanukkah is still celebrated with much joy and festive activities throughout the world.
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Last update 2023-11-27. Price and product availability may change.