Celebrate Chanukah: Gifts, Menorahs & Decorations

This year (2026), Chanukah begins at sundown on Friday 4th December and ends at nightfall on Saturday 12th December. The first candle on the menorah is lit on the evening of 4th December and the eighth and final candle is lit on the evening of Friday 11th December.

The dates for Chanukah appear to change each year because Jewish holidays are based on the Hebrew calendar, which is lunisolar, rather than the standard Gregorian solar calendar used in daily life.

Both spellings are correct! The variation happens because the word is transliterated from Hebrew (חֲנֻכָּה). The first letter is a chet, which makes a guttural sound in the back of the throat that doesn't have a direct equivalent in the English alphabet. "Chanukah" is often preferred within the Jewish community to represent that authentic sound, while "Hanukkah" is more commonly used in mainstream English media. Regardless of whether you see it spelled Chanukah, Hanukkah, or Hannukah, they all refer to the exact same Festival of Lights!

Chanukah, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights, commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the second century BCE. During this time, the Syrian-Greek King Antiochus IV outlawed Jewish practices and desecrated the Temple by erecting idols and sacrificing pigs on the holy altar. A small group of Jewish fighters, known as the Maccabees, successfully revolted and reclaimed the holy site. When they sought to relight the Temple's menorah to rededicate the space, they found only enough pure olive oil to last one day. Miraculously, that small cruse of oil burned for eight days, which is why the festival is celebrated over eight nights today.

The centerpiece of the festival is the nightly lighting of the Hanukkiah, a special nine-branched menorah. One branch holds the shamash (the helper candle), which is used to light the other eight. Families gather each evening to recite blessings and light the Chanukah candles, adding one additional candle each night to commemorate the eight days the oil burned.

To celebrate the miracle of the oil, it is traditional to eat foods fried in oil. The most famous of these are sufganiyot (sweet, jelly-filled doughnuts) and latkes (crispy potato pancakes). Because serving these delicious treats can be messy, many families use festive, disposable Chanukah tableware for easy cleanup.

While the historical tradition involved giving gelt (money or coins) to children to encourage their studies, modern Chanukah celebrations often include giving small presents over the eight nights. Educational Chanukah toys, arts and crafts and games are popular gifts that help build excitement and teach the story of the festival to the next generation.