When Is Hanukkah 2026? December 4 to 12, and What Moves Earlier

When Is Hanukkah 2026? December 4, Three Weeks Before Christmas

Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12. The first candle is lit on the evening of December 4. That is ten days earlier than in 2025, when the first candle was on December 14, and it ends almost two weeks before Christmas. So the December plans most people make around the 25th, from shipping cutoffs to the last school day, come too late for Hanukkah this year. Here is what moves earlier.

The eight nights of Hanukkah 2026

The Jewish calendar does not line up with the regular calendar, so Hanukkah moves every year. In 2026 it falls early. Dates from Hebcal, checked on October 24, 2026:

Night 1: Friday, December 4 (candles before sundown, since it is Friday)
Night 2: Saturday, December 5 (candles after nightfall)
Nights 3 to 7: Sunday, December 6 to Thursday, December 10
Night 8: Friday, December 11
Ends: nightfall on Saturday, December 12

For comparison, Hanukkah 2025 started on December 14, and Hanukkah 2027 will start on December 24. If you planned last year's gifts and visits around mid-December, this year everything is about ten days earlier.

The week of Hanukkah 2026 is also a school week: Monday, December 7 to Friday, December 11. Many school winter breaks start later in December, so children will have school on most of the eight nights.

Shipping: the Christmas deadlines are too late

Every year USPS and other carriers publish recommended send-by dates for delivery before December 25. For 2026, USPS lists Thursday, December 17 for USPS Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail, Friday, December 18 for Priority Mail, and Saturday, December 19 for Priority Mail Express, for addresses in the lower 48 states. The same page notes that Hanukkah is earlier this year and asks people to plan for it.

All of those dates are after Hanukkah ends. If a gift should arrive for the first night, work back from December 4, not December 25:

USPS says Ground Advantage packages are delivered in 2 to 5 days and Priority Mail in 2 to 3 days. Those are estimates, not guarantees.
December 4 is a Friday. Sending by the Monday after Thanksgiving, November 30, leaves room for the slower services and for the holiday rush.
For gifts on later nights, you have a little more time, but the last night is December 11.

For the full list of carrier cutoffs, see our holiday shipping deadlines for 2026. The point here is just that the Christmas dates on that list do not apply to Hanukkah gifts this year.

Eight nights of gifts, planned in November

If your family gives a gift on some or all of the eight nights, early Hanukkah means the shopping happens in November, during Black Friday week, rather than in mid-December. A few things that help:

Write the plan by night. Which child gets what on which night, or which nights are for small things and which for the bigger gift. A list by night makes it easy to see what is still missing.
Order what ships first. Anything that needs to arrive by mail goes first. Things you buy in a store can wait.
Watch prices on gifts you have already chosen. If you have a gift saved, a price drop during Black Friday week is worth catching. Our guide to tracking price drops on gifts covers how.
Check return windows. Holiday return policies are often written around Christmas. Our holiday return policy guide shows what stores have said for 2026.

Visits, school and the rest of December

Because Hanukkah ends December 12, family visits for it also come earlier. Travel booked for the end of December will miss it. If grandparents are visiting for the first night, that is the first weekend of December.

School is in session for most of the eight nights, so evenings are shorter. Some families do candle lighting on weeknights and save gifts or gatherings for the first night on Friday, December 4, the weekend of December 5 and 6, and the last night on Friday, December 11. December still has the other dates too: the last school day, winter break and the Christmas events your children's school may hold. Our December family calendar checklist helps put them on one page.

Where Tracy fits

Tracy, the assistant in dEssence, keeps the things you send her. Save a gift link from Chrome, send your list for the eight nights in Telegram or iMessage, or a screenshot of an order. She keeps the list, reminds you to order and ship before December 4, and if you ask her to watch the price on a saved gift, she tells you when it drops. She does not shop, pay or ship.

Frequently asked questions

When is Hanukkah 2026?

Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12. The first candle is lit on the evening of December 4.

Why is Hanukkah so early in 2026?

Hanukkah follows the Hebrew calendar, which does not match the regular calendar, so the date moves each year. In 2025 it began December 14, and in 2027 it begins December 24.

When should I ship Hanukkah gifts in 2026?

To arrive by the first night, December 4, send them by around November 30. The USPS holiday dates, December 17 to 19, are for Christmas and come after Hanukkah ends.

Is Hanukkah during school in 2026?

Mostly yes. The weekdays of Hanukkah 2026 are December 7 to 11, before many school winter breaks begin.

How many nights is Hanukkah?

Eight. In 2026 the nights run from Friday, December 4 to Friday, December 11, and the holiday ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12.