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Hanukkah 2025 Starts Sunday: What to Know About Dates, Traditions and Community Events

The festival commemorates the Temple’s rededication, with candles added nightly on a nine‑branched hanukkiah using a shamash.

Overview

  • In 2025, the first candle is lit at sundown on Sunday, December 14, the final night of lighting is Sunday, December 21, and the holiday concludes at nightfall on Monday, December 22.
  • Candles are placed right to left but lit left to right, blessings are recited each night, and the shamash serves as the helper flame for the other lights.
  • Hanukkah always begins on 25 Kislev in the Hebrew lunisolar calendar, so its dates shift on the Gregorian calendar from late November to late December.
  • Common practices include fried foods such as latkes and sufganiyot, dreidel games, and gifts or chocolate gelt shared especially with children.
  • Public menorah lightings are scheduled in cities worldwide, including events across Greater Manchester, with some large displays using electric lights for safety.