Hanukkah (or Hanukkah) – the celebration of the Jewish Festival of Lights – is just around the corner, and here’s everything you need to know about the annual religious celebration after Christmas.
When is Hanukkah in New Jersey?
Hanukkah begins at nightfall on Wednesday, December 25, and ends on the night of Thursday, January 2, 2025.
That means the holiday starts at 4:41 p.m. in New Jersey.
What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah is colloquially known as the Festival of Lights, but is also the festival of rededication, intended to honor the victory of the Macabee soldiers over the Syrian-Greek army.
Although rooted in the Jewish faith and celebrated in December, the holiday does not have the same religious significance in Judaism as Christmas does for Christians.
“Chanukah is an eight-day Jewish festival that marks the miraculous victory of the Maccabees, Jewish freedom fighters, over the Seleucid Greek occupiers in the year 139 BCE,” read a detailed section of Chanukah’s origins provided by Chabad.org. “After recapturing the Holy Temple of Jerusalem, which had been converted into a place of idol worship, they searched for pure oil to light the Temple’s menorah.
“They found just enough to burn for one day, but miraculously it burned for eight days until more oil could be brought in.”
How to celebrate Hanukkah
Hanukkah is celebrated by lighting a menorah every evening, saying special prayers and eating traditional foods.
“The Hanukkah lights are lit in the evening prior to each of the eight days of Chanukah,” read Chabad.org’s website on Hanukkah customs. The custom of many communities (and this is the custom of Chabad-Lubavitch) is to light the menorah shortly after sunset; other communities light it at nightfall.
“In either case, the menorah must contain sufficient fuel at the time of lighting to burn for 30 minutes after nightfall.”
Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist covering trending topics in the Mid-Atlantic region.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: When is Hanukkah in NJ? What you need to know about the Festival of Lights
