When is Hanukkah 2027?

Most years, Hanukkah and Christmas are near each other on the calendar without actually landing on the same days. In 2027 they fall right on top of each other. The first candle goes in the menorah on Christmas Eve, the eighth candle is lit on New Year's Eve, and there's a Friday night at each end of the holiday. If you're coordinating family visits, travel, or an interfaith household, that's a lot to plan for.

Below you'll find the dates, a night-by-night lighting schedule, how to handle the two Shabbat nights, and the reason Hanukkah comes so late this year.

When Is Hanukkah 2027? The Short Answer

Hanukkah 2027 begins at sundown on Friday, December 24, 2027, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, January 1, 2028. On the Hebrew calendar, the first day is the 25th of Kislev, 5788.

• First candle: Friday evening, December 24 (Christmas Eve, and also Erev Shabbat)
• First full day: Shabbat, December 25 (Christmas Day)
• Eighth candle: Friday evening, December 31 (New Year's Eve, and Erev Shabbat again)
• Holiday ends: nightfall Saturday, January 1, 2028

Every Jewish holiday begins the evening before the date printed on the calendar, because Jewish days start at sunset. Hanukkah is no different, so the first candle is lit the night before the first full day.

Here's how 2027 compares with the years around it:

• 2025: sundown Sunday, December 14 to Monday, December 22 (details here)
• 2026: sundown Friday, December 4 to Saturday, December 12 (details here)
• 2027: sundown Friday, December 24 to Saturday, January 1, 2028
• 2028: sundown Tuesday, December 12 to Wednesday, December 20

The Night-by-Night Candle Lighting Schedule

On each night you light one more candle than the night before, plus the shamash (helper candle). Place the candles from right to left and light them from left to right, so the newest candle is always lit first.

1. Friday, December 24: 1 candle. Light before the Shabbat candles, ahead of sunset.
2. Saturday, December 25: 2 candles. Light after Shabbat ends at nightfall.
3. Sunday, December 26: 3 candles
4. Monday, December 27: 4 candles
5. Tuesday, December 28: 5 candles
6. Wednesday, December 29: 6 candles
7. Thursday, December 30: 7 candles
8. Friday, December 31: 8 candles. Light before the Shabbat candles, ahead of sunset.

From Sunday through Thursday, the usual custom is to light at nightfall, or at sunset in some communities. The candles should burn for at least 30 minutes after dark. Late December has the earliest sunsets of the year, and in much of the US the sun goes down between about 4:15 and 5:00 p.m. Exact times depend on where you live, so check a local Jewish calendar or your synagogue's schedule for your zip code.

You'll also say two blessings every night. On the first night you add a third, Shehecheyanu, which thanks God for bringing us to this season.

Lighting Candles When Hanukkah Starts on Shabbat

Friday nights need the most planning, and in 2027 there are two of them. Once Shabbat begins you can't light a flame, so on those nights the menorah gets lit before the Shabbat candles, which are traditionally lit about 18 minutes before sunset.

Here's what that means in practice:

• Light early, but not too early. Most people light the menorah just before the Shabbat candles, somewhere around 20 to 30 minutes before sunset.
• Use longer candles or more oil. The menorah still has to burn until at least half an hour after nightfall. Standard boxed Hanukkah candles often burn for only about 30 minutes, which isn't enough when you light before sunset. Use longer candles, such as Shabbat-size tapers that fit your menorah, or pour extra oil. Plan on the flames lasting at least 60 to 75 minutes.
• Menorah first, then Shabbat candles. Most families follow this order. Lighting Shabbat candles is how many people formally begin Shabbat, and after that the menorah can't be lit.
• Leave it alone. Once Shabbat starts, don't move or adjust the menorah. Put it somewhere safe before you light, away from curtains, kids' elbows, and the dog's tail.

On Saturday night, December 25, wait until Shabbat is over at nightfall, which is usually about 40 to 50 minutes after sunset. Then do Havdalah and light the second candle. Families differ on which comes first at home, so do whatever your family or community usually does.

Why Hanukkah Falls So Late in 2027

Hanukkah always starts on the 25th of Kislev, but the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, so its dates drift against the secular calendar. A lunisolar year is about 11 days shorter than a solar year. That's why Hanukkah usually comes earlier each year, as it did in 2025 and 2026.

To keep the holidays in their proper seasons, the Hebrew calendar adds a whole extra month, Adar I, seven times in every 19 years. The year 5787 is one of those leap years, and its extra month in early 2027 moves everything that follows about three weeks later. That same leap month is why the High Holidays fall so late in autumn 2027, which we cover in our guide to Rosh Hashanah 2027. Hanukkah, about two and a half months after Rosh Hashanah, gets pushed to the very end of December.

The following year has no leap month, so the calendar moves back the other way, and in 2028 Hanukkah starts on December 12.

The Christmas Eve Overlap: How Rare Is It?

Hanukkah and Christmas share a few days fairly often. A first night that falls exactly on Christmas Eve is less common. It last happened in 2016, and 2027 is the next time. In 2024 the two holidays came close, but the first candle that year was lit on Christmas night, not Christmas Eve.

This year, all eight nights fall in the week between Christmas and New Year's. Many families will already have that week off from school and work, which makes it easier to gather in one place for the whole holiday.

Practical Tips for a Christmas Eve Hanukkah

• Interfaith families: If you're heading to a Christmas Eve dinner on Friday, light the menorah at home before you leave and before sunset, and use candles long enough to burn safely through the evening. If you're sleeping at the host's house, you can bring a menorah and light it there instead.
• Traveling for the holidays: December 24 and December 31 are both heavy travel days and both Friday afternoons. If you keep Shabbat, plan to arrive with plenty of time to spare. Pack a travel menorah and a box of longer candles.
• Two Shabbat dinners, two celebrations: Treat the two Friday nights as the high points of the week. Latkes on the first Friday and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) on the second makes a nice pair.
• New Year's Eve with eight candles: Few people will be fully lit on New Year's Eve, but your menorah will be. For a family that keeps Shabbat, a full menorah followed by Shabbat dinner is a lovely way to end 2027.
• Put it in the window: The tradition is to display the menorah where people passing by can see it. That's to publicize the miracle, and on a street lined with Christmas lights, it means something too.

A Gift That Comes Back Every Fall

For many families, Hanukkah is when gifts get given. It's also a good moment to think ahead to next autumn. If someone on your list has wanted a sukkah of their own, a kit bought in winter turns into a whole week of meals under the stars next fall. Sukkot 2028 begins at sundown on Wednesday, October 4. Our guide to the best sukkah kits for beginners explains how to choose a size and what comes in the box. The steel frames last for years, so it's a gift that gets used again every fall.

If you'd like to extend the spirit of the season further, The Sukkah Foundation gives sukkahs to schools, synagogues, and families who couldn't otherwise build one. Donating a sukkah in someone's honor is a gift that doesn't need wrapping.

Quick Recap

• Hanukkah 2027: sundown Friday, December 24 to nightfall Saturday, January 1, 2028
• First candle on Christmas Eve, eighth candle on New Year's Eve
• On both Friday nights, light the menorah before the Shabbat candles, using longer candles
• On Saturday night, December 25, light after Shabbat ends
• The late date comes from the leap month added earlier in 2027

Chag urim sameach! We wish you a happy Festival of Lights, however you celebrate it this year.