1 / 6
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!
Explore Hanukkah
Learn more about Hanukkah
Hanukkah 2024 begins the evening of Wednesday, December 25, 2024 and ends the evening of Thursday, January 2, 2025. 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!
Mix-and-match
Explore content in our extensive library and pull it together into your own Jewish ritual booklet that honors and recognizes whatever life has brought your way.
Share a ritual
Add your own original content as a clip to our extensive library - a poem, blessing, or something else entirely. Someone out there is looking for exactly what only you can create.
Support us
with your donation.
Help us build moments of meaning and connection through home-based Jewish rituals.
No topics found
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.
Moon of Dreaming (November/December)
As the nights grow longer, we read many Torah portions about dreams and dreaming. In these long nights, take the time to dream and re-ignite your creativity. Our spiritual focus is on our personal connection to Divine through creative expression. As the weather changes and the days grow shorter, we seek inspiration in Yirah (יראה), or the idea of Radical Amazement/Fear/Awe/Reverence.
Kohenet Ketzirah HaMa’agelet (the Circle Maker) is a maker and teacher of the sacred arts. She is the creative force behind Devotaj Sacred Arts. her work explores and connects different spiritual traditions. Learn more about her insignts into Kislev at: https://devotaj.com/cosmic-reference-library/wheel-of-the-year/kislev/
Load more
1 / 6
Load more
