Chanukah is an eight day festival commemorating God's miracles for the Jewish people, especially the victories of the Jews in the Land of Israel against their Syrian-Greek oppressors, as well as the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem.  These took place around the year 165 BCE.

In the Jewish calendar, Chanukah runs from 25 Kislev to 3 Tevet which corresponds this year to nightfall on Wednesday 10 December 2020 to sunset on Friday 18 December 2020.

We light candles each night of Chanukah, with the number of candles corresponding to each particular night of Chanukah (plus an extra candle used for lighting, called a 'shamash') and say special prayers such as 'Hallel' (618), 'Al Hanisim' (90) and 'Bimei Matityahu' (92) during Chanukah to mark these miracles.   The numbers refer to page numbers for these prayers in the green Singers' Siddur (Lord Sacks's edition).

It is common practice to use a 'Menorah' (also known as a Chanukiah) to hold the candles, as this replicates the practice in the Temple and ensures that the candles are in a straight line and at the same height, but the candles can alternatively be lit on any other appropriate, safe surface as long as they are lined up straight.

Ideally, the candles are lit as soon as possible after nightfall and when the household is gathered together but if this is not feasible, such as on Friday night, they may be lit from earlier as is indicated below. The candles need to burn for at least 30 minutes after nightfall which means that the candles lit on Friday must be longer-lasting than those used on other nights.

One of most popular Chanukah traditions is to eat doughnuts or other fried foods, such as latkes.

Below is a brief walk through Chanukah with relevant times, followed by an extract from the Tribe Siddur showing the berachot (blessings) to be said on lighting and the order of lighting candles each night.

For more articles about Chanukah and a video demonstrating how to light candles, please see our Chanukah page and visit The US events page to find out what is happening for Chanukah at your local synagogue. 

As noted above, it is best for a household to light candles at the same time. 

Candles should burn for at least 30 minutes after nightfall.