Is Hanukkah before or after Christmas?

Answer 1

The short answer is.... it depends on which year your looking at....

Hannukah (or Festival of Lights) is a Jewish holiday observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev.

This is according to the Hebrew Calendar. But may occur either late November or late December if your looking at the Gregorian Calendar.

Here are some Hanukkah dates for the near future:

2011: December 20-28

2012: December 8-16

2013: November 27-December 5

2014: December 16-24

2015: December 6-14

Answer 2

Christmas comes on December 25. Hanukkah varies.

Hanukkah starts on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev, and lasts for eight days. Here are the coinciding secular dates for the upcoming years:

2011: December 20-28

2012: December 8-16

2013: November 27-December 5

2014: December 16-24

2015: December 6-14

Answer 3

Hanukkah was most likely celebrated as an established holiday before Christmas:

The oldest reference to Christmas as a Christian festival was in a 4th Century document known as "The Chronography of 354".

The oldest recorded reference to Hanukkah is in the book of Maccabees (I, 4:36; and II, 1:18), and Josephus mentions the eight-day festival in Antiquities ch.12. These two sources are from hundreds of years before the 4th century.

Answer 4

Hanukkah came first as an established holiday:
The oldest recorded reference to the festival of rededication of the Temple (Hanukkah) is in the book of Maccabees (I, 4:56-59; and II, 1:18); and Josephus (1st century CE) mentions the eight-day festival in Antiquities ch.12.

The oldest reference to Christmas as a Christian festival was in a 4th Century document known as "The Chronography of 354".

Answer 5

No, there is no connection between Hanukkah and Christmas.