Hanukkah: 7-15 December 2023

07/12/2023

Hanukkah, also known as Chanukah or the Festival of Lights, commences on Thursday, 7 December this year - the 25th day of Kislev in the Jewish calendar. Hanukkah is Hebrew for “dedication”, and the festival lasts eight days and nights. During Hanukkah, many Jewish people celebrate by lighting one candle each night on the menorah to symbolise the miracle of the cruse of oil that was said to burn for eight days in the Second Temple Of Jerusalem. Other traditions include eating oily foods including latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnuts), playing dreidel (spinning top) and giving gelt (chocolate gold-foiled coins).