Hanukkah 2026 Dates: When the Holiday Starts and Ends
Plan gifts, travel, and menorah lightings with exact start and end times for Hanukkah 2026.
Hanukkah 2026, the Jewish eight-day Festival of Lights marked by nightly menorah lighting, starts at sundown on Friday, Dec. 4, 2026. It ends at nightfall on Saturday, Dec.
12, 2026, after eight nights and days. According to Hebcal, the first candle is lit before sundown on Dec. 4 because that evening is Shabbat eve Hebcal's Chanukah 2026 page.
Chabad.org lists the same December 4–12 span for Chanukah 2026 Chabad.org's dates page.
Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 02, 2026.
How do the opening and closing lightings work?
The Friday start changes the timing on both ends of the holiday. The Dec. 4 lighting happens before sundown, not after dark, to avoid lighting during Shabbat.
The same rule applies on Friday, Dec. 11. According to Hebcal, nightly lightings grow from one candle on Dec.
4 to all eight candles on Dec. 11, also lit before sundown Hebcal's candle-lighting table. Dec.
12 is the eighth full day, and the holiday closes at nightfall.
What Hebrew dates match Hanukkah 2026?
Hanukkah always begins on 25 Kislev and lasts for eight nights. The Hebrew date sets the holiday, while the Gregorian date moves from year to year. According to Hebcal, the 2026 observance runs from 25 Kislev through 2 Tevet in Hebrew Year 5787 Hebcal's holiday listing.
That span covers the full Dec. 4–12 period on the civil calendar.
Why does Hanukkah fall in early December this year?
The Hebrew and Gregorian calendars run on different cycles. Hanukkah keeps the same Hebrew dates, so its civil dates shift each year. That shift can place the eight days anytime from late November to late December.
In 2026, the overlap lands in the first half of December, with both Fridays requiring an earlier lighting.
How should households use these dates?
Use the two Fridays as planning anchors. Travel, dinners, school events, gift purchases, and public lightings fit more smoothly when the early Friday lightings are fixed first. My Jewish Learning notes that the Dec.
4–12 timing shapes home and public menorah plans My Jewish Learning's Hanukkah guide. Exact times vary by city and community, so a date alone is not enough for the lighting.
- Confirm the exact Friday lighting time for your city before Dec. 4.
- Confirm the exact Friday lighting time for your city before Dec. 11.
- Check local nightfall time for Dec. 12 before planning the close of the holiday.