When is Hanukkah 2026? Friday 4 December

Hanukkah lasts eight nights and follows the Hebrew calendar, so it usually begins in late November or December.

Many families light the menorah each evening and give a small gift on some or all of the nights, often more for children than for adults. Chocolate coins, known as gelt, are a tradition, as are foods fried in oil, such as doughnuts and latkes.

Candles and anything for the home suit the festival of lights. Across eight nights, several small, well-chosen gifts tend to work better than one large one.