When is Hanukkah 2025? Check Key Dates & Candle Lighting Schedule!

Do you also want to know when is Hanukkah 2025? But first, you must know that Chanukah (or Hanukkah) marks the Maccabees’ unlikely victory over the Seleucid Greeks in 139 BCE and the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

As far as the dates are concerned it is an eight day Jewish festival of lights that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of the oil that lasted eight days.

When will Hanukkah 2025 Begin?

It will begin at nightfall on Sunday, December 14, 2025, and end at nightfall on Monday, December 22, 2025. Because the Hebrew calendar is lunar-solar, Hanukkah dates shift each year on the Gregorian calendar, sometimes appearing earlier or later in December.

In 2025, Hanukkah overlaps with the Christmas season, which often leads to increased interest in candle-lighting times, daily schedules, and whether the festival might appear “twice” in a single year due to calendar quirks.

Why do Jewish families light candles for eight nights every winter?

When only a single jar of pure oil was found, enough for one day, it miraculously burned for eight, becoming a lasting symbol of faith, resilience and light overcoming darkness.

Hanukkah 2025 Dates at a Glance

• Start: Sunday, December 14, 2025 (at sundown)

• End: Monday, December 22, 2025 (after nightfall)

• Total Length: 8 nights / 8 days

Daily Candle-Lighting Schedule for Hanukkah 2025

Jews light the menorah after sunset, except on Friday when lights are kindled before sunset and on Saturday night when they’re lit after Havdalah.

When is Chanukah in Other Years?

Below are the key dates for Chanukah for upcoming years:

• 2026: December 4-12

• 2027: December 24, 2027- January 1, 2028

• 2028: December 12-20

• 2029: December 1-9

• 2030: December 20-28

Are There Two Hanukkahs in 2025?

Despite popular confusion, no, there are not two Hanukkahs in 2025. The entire holiday takes place in December 2025, beginning on the 14th and ending on the 22nd.

People often ask this because Hanukkah in 2024 begins late in December and ends in January, but in 2025 the holiday falls entirely within one calendar year.

What Year Will There Be No Hanukkah?

There will always be a Hanukkah each Hebrew year.
But due to calendar alignment, there won’t be a Hanukkah that begins in the civil year 2024, because it starts in late December 2023, and the next one begins in late December 2025.

This sometimes creates the illusion that a year is "missing" Hanukkah.

When Do You Light the First Hanukkah Candle in 2025?

The first candle is lit after sunset on Sunday, December 14, 2025.

What Do Jews Celebrate on 25 December?

December 25 has no inherent Jewish significance.
However, Jews in 2025 will be observing the 11th day of Tevet, a regular day on the Hebrew calendar.

If Hanukkah overlaps Christmas in a given year (not 2025), Jews may simply be celebrating the overlapping Hanukkah night.

What Is Hanukkah Called in the Bible?

In Jewish texts, Hanukkah is referred to as:

• Chag HaUrim (Festival of Lights)

• Chanukat HaBayit / Chanukat HaMizbeach (Rededication of the Temple / Altar)

The story appears in the Books of the Maccabees (considered historical rather than biblical in the Jewish canon).

What Is Forbidden on Chanukah?

Unlike Shabbat or major Jewish holidays, Hanukkah does not prohibit work.
However, certain customs exist:

• Avoiding work for the first half-hour after lighting candles

• Not using the menorah lights for practical purposes (they are only for viewing)

Otherwise, daily life continues normally. Therefore, you must celebrate the festival with your family and friends. 

You may also like to read: National Guard Birthday 2025: Is it a Federal Holiday or Not? Know How it Started