When does Hanukkah start 2024? The start of the Jewish holiday shares day with Christmas.
It's a celebration of light.
Hanukkah is right around the corner, and Jewish people around New England are already getting out those menorahs, dreidels and other holiday decorations.
Interestingly enough, the Jewish holiday Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the same day this year, which is a rare occurrence.
So, when does Hanukkah? fall this year? Here's what to know.
When is Hanukkah 2024?
This year, Hanukkah begins on the night of Wednesday, Dec. 25.
Because the start of Hanukkah is tied to the Hebrew calendar, the dates change from year to year and the holiday can happen between late November and late December. Christmas Day is always Dec. 25.
When was the last time both holidays landed on the same day?
It happened in 2005.
In just over a century, it's occurred just four times, according to Hebcal. Before 2005, the two holidays happened on the same day in 1959 and 1921. Hebcal noted the next two years it will happen will be 2035 and 2054.
What does Hanukkah celebrate?
First of all, Hanukkah is not as big of a holiday for Jewish people as Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah, which are the highest of holiest days of the year.
Hanukkah, also known as the "festival of lights," lasts eight days.
According to Chabad.org, the holiday dates back to events that happened in the second century BCE, when the Jewish Holy Land was ruled by Seleucids who tried to convert the Jewish people to Greek culture and religion. A small, poorly armed band of Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, drove out the Greeks, reclaiming the Holy Temple in Jerusalem for the Jews. When it came time to light the temple's menorah, there was only a one-day supply of oil, but, miraculously, the light lasted for eight nights, which is why Hanukkah lasts eight nights.