How Many Days Until Hanukkah?

Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) is the Jewish Festival of Lights, an eight-day celebration commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century BCE. The holiday celebrates the miracle of the oil: when the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple, they found only enough consecrated oil to light the menorah for one day, but it miraculously lasted for eight days—the time needed to prepare new oil. Today, Jews celebrate by lighting the Hanukkah menorah (hanukkiah), adding one candle each night. Traditional Hanukkah activities include playing dreidel (a spinning top game), exchanging gifts, and enjoying foods fried in oil like latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts). The holiday falls in November or December based on the Hebrew calendar.