When Is Hanukkah — Or Chanukah — In 2022? 5 Things To Know

ACROSS AMERICA — Jews in the United States and around the world will begin celebrating Hanukkah with a ceremonial lighting of the first candle on the menorah at sundown on Sunday, Dec. 18, and light all eight candles the evening of Monday, Dec.26.

The eight-day observance is one of the most popular holidays in Judaism, but a minor one when compared with Passover, which commemorates Israelites' escape from Egypt (April 5-13, 2023); Rosh Hashanah, which marks the new year (Sept. 15-17, 2023); and Yom Kippur, the most solemn of the Jewish religious holidays, when Jews seek to make up for their sins and reconcile with God (Sept. 24-25, 2023).

Hanukkah is the Hebrew word for dedication. The eight-day observance commemorates the reconsecration of the Second Temple of Jerusalem after Jews rose up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt in Second Century B.C.

Below are five things to know about Hanukkah.

The Miracle Of The Light

After the revolution, scholars of Judaism believe, pure olive oil was so scarce there was only enough to light one of the candles on the menorah; however, it lasted for eight days, long enough for the supply to be replenished. Hanukkah is called the Jewish Festival of Lights to celebrate the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days.

At sundown each night of the Hanukkah celebration, Jewish people light a candle on the menorah, a nine-branched candelabra that includes a candle cup for each night of the celebration, along with a ninth cup to hold the candle used to light the others.

Is It Hanukkah Or Chanukah?

Both Hanukkah and Chanukah — along with about 20 other spellings — are acceptable. Hanukkah is the most widely used spelling, while Chanukah is more traditional.

But why are there so many spellings? Unlike many languages, including English, Hebrew doesn’t use the Latin alphabet. When translated to English, the sounds of different Hebrew characters are converted into Latin letters; however, not all the Hebrew characters exist in the Latin alphabet; pronunciations also differ, as Britannica explained.

Why Is Hanukkah Celebrated At Sunset?

In Judaism, all days — not just religious holidays — begin at nightfall, based on a story of the creation in Genesis. At the end of each day, it says, “And it was evening, and it was morning; day one”; “And it was evening, and it was morning; the second day,” etc.

That has been interpreted in the Torah to mean that evening comes first and then morning. Additionally, it is interpreted to mean that situations may seem dark at first, but lightness will follow and things will get better.

In What Other Ways Is Hanukkah Celebrated?

Because the holiday celebrates the miracle of the oil, fried foods — particularly, jelly-filled doughnuts known as sufganiyot and potato pancakes known as latkes — are served during the observances.

Gelt — the chocolate rounds wrapped in foil to resemble coins — can be traced to a decision by the ruling Hasmonean family after the Maccabean revolt to mint their own currency and distribute it to Jewish widows, soldiers and orphans, possibly at the first Hanukkah celebration, according to scholars of Judaism.

Gelt is also a symbol of political autonomy. In the book of 1 Maccabees, Syria’s King Antiochus VII said to Simon Maccabee, “I turn over to you the right to make your own stamp for coinage for your country” (15:6).

Gelt is also used in the playing of dreidel, a gambling game using a top that spins and has one of four Hebrew letters — Nun, Gimel, Hay, Sheen — on each side. The letters form an acronym for the Hebrew saying “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham,” which is translated to mean "a great miracle happened there," referring to the miracle of the oil.

Players either receive or give up coins, depending on which letter they land on. Landing on Gimel entitles the player to all the coins.

The exchange of gifts is a modern twist to Hanukkah, stemming from its proximity to the celebration of Christmas in Christianity. It is incorrect, though, to refer to Hanukkah as the “Christmas of Judaism.”

Why Does The Date Change?

Hanukkah usually falls somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas, though the exact dates change every year — except on the Hebrew calendar, when the celebration always starts on the 25th day of Kislev, the ninth month.

Most people in the world use the Gregorian, or solar, calendar, based on Earth’s orbit of the sun. The observance of Jewish holidays is based on a lunisolar calendar that takes into account both Earth’s orbit around the sun, which determines the year’s length, but also the phases of the moon to determine the beginning and end of each new month.

At just 29.5 days, the lunar month is shorter than the solar month, and 354 days make up a year, versus 365 days on the solar calendar. Using a lunar calendar would mean the holidays wouldn’t always fall in the same seasons. To reconcile the difference, the Hebrew calendar adds a leap month to seven out of every 19 years — as opposed to the leap day added every four years to the Gregorian calendar.

That means a year on the Jewish calendar can range from 353 to 385 days.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Passover commemorates the Jews' escape from Europe. It has since been corrected to reflect that the escape was from Egypt.