What order are the candles lit on Hanukkah?

Answer 1

One candle is lit on the first night, on the right hand side of the Menorah.

From the second night and on you add one candle each night. You place the candles from right to left and light them from left to right.

Answer 2

The candles start from the right. So on the first night of Chanukkah, the Menorah will look like this:

_ _ _ _ - _ _ _ 1

On the Second night it will look as follows:

_ _ _ _ - _ _ 1 2

And on the third:

_ _ _ _ - _ 1 2 3

And so on. Now, that you have the candles in the right place, start lighting from the left. Number one, then two (if after the first night) and so on.

The dash in the middle is the Shammesh, which is higher up than the rest of the candles. It does not nessesarily need to be in the middle, and if it is on the side, that is perfectly ok. The Shammesh is generally lit first, and used to light the other candles. It is lit in addition to the number of candles needed for the specific night. So on the first night, there is one regular candle, plus the Shammesh.

Answer 3

Around sunset-nightfall. Some communities customarily light at sunset, some prefer to light around 20-25 minutes after sunset, and some have a custom to light after the evening services, around 60-90 minutes after sunset.

The first of the above three customs is according to the Rambam (Maimonides).

The second custom is that of the Yeshiva community.

The third is a well-established custom among Ashkenazim.

On Friday, the candles are lit around 18 minutes before sunset, before lighting the Shabbat candles.

Answer 4

left to right (you always light the newest candle first).

Answer 5

The Shamesh!