Hanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day Festival of Lights, begins this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900.
For some rabbis, the intersection of the two religious holidays provides an auspicious occasion for interfaith engagement.
“This can be a profound opportunity for learning and collaboration and togetherness,” said Rabbi Josh Stanton, a vice president of the Jewish Federations of North America. He oversees interfaith initiatives involving the 146 local and regional Jewish federations that his organization represents.
“The goal is not proselytizing; it's learning deeply from each other,” he said. “It’s others seeing you as you see yourself.”
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One example of togetherness: a Chicanukah party hosted Thursday evening by several Jewish organizations in Houston, bringing together members of the city’s Latino and Jewish communities for a “cross cultural holiday celebration." The venue: Houston’s Holocaust museum.
The food on offer was a blend of the two cultures — for example a latke bar featuring guacamole, chili con queso and pico de gallo, as well as applesauce and sour cream. The doughnut-like pastries were sufganiyot — a Hanukkah specialty — and buñuelos, And the mariachi band took a crack at playing the Jewish folk song “Hava Nagila.”
When is the first night of Hanukkah 2024?
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The first night of Hanukkah starts at sundown on Wednesday, Dec. 25.
When is the last night of Hanukkah 2024?
The last night of Hanukkah is Wednesday, Jan 2, 2025.
When does Hanukkah end 2024?
Hanukkah this year will actually continue into 2025 this year and end at sundown on Thursday, Dec. 2.
Are Hanukkah and Christmas on the same day?
The first night of Hanukkah will come at sundown on Christmas Day in 2024. This has only happened four times since 1990.
Why is Hanukkah so late this year?
The simple answer is that the Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles, and is not in sync with the Gregorian calendar which sets Christmas on Dec. 25. Hanukkah always begins on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, a date which occurs between late November and late December on the Gregorian calendar.
The last time Hanukkah began on Christmas Day was in 2005. But the term “Chrismukkah” — signifying the overlap of the two holidays — had become a popular term before then. The term gained extra currency in 2003, when the character Seth Cohen on the TV drama “The O.C.” embraced the fusion holiday as a tribute to his Jewish father and Protestant mother.
This season, the Hallmark Channel introduced a new Christmas movie called “Leah’s Perfect Gift,” depicting a young Jewish woman who had admired Christmas from a distance, and gets a chance to experience it up close when her boyfriend invites her to spend the holidays with his family. Spoiler alert: All does not go smoothly.
Despite such storylines suggesting a fascination with Christmas among some Jews, Stanton says research by the Jewish Federations reveals a surge in Jews seeking deeper connections to their own traditions and community, as well as a surge in Jews volunteering for charitable activities during the holidays.
“The opportunity is to share with others how we celebrate Hanukkah,” he said. “It’s a holiday of freedom, hope, showing proudly you are Jewish.”
When is Hanukkah 2025?
Hanukkah will run from Dec. 14-22 in 2025.
