Hanukkah begins at sunset on Friday 4 December and ends at nightfall on Saturday 12 December 2026. It lasts eight nights and days. The dates in our everyday calendar change each year because the festival follows the Hebrew calendar.

See Hebcal’s Hanukkah 2026 calendar for the dates.

Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish festival, often called the Festival of Lights. It remembers the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem. Jewish tradition tells of oil for one day lasting for eight. Hanukkah and Chanukah are different English spellings of the same Hebrew name.

For young children, begin with a short story, pictures and conversations about how some Jewish families mark the festival today. Reform Judaism’s introduction to Hanukkah offers useful background for adults.

A Hanukkah menorah, also called a hanukkiah, holds eight festival lights plus a ninth helper light, the shamash. The helper is used to light the others. The number of festival lights increases from one on the first evening to eight on the last.

Paper flames, pictures or suitable battery lights can support a counting activity. Keep the helper separate when explaining the eight nights. Read Reform Judaism’s explanation of the hanukkiah for more context.

Choose a few resources that suit children’s interests and experience. Talk about the pictures and what they represent, then offer drawing, making, matching or counting. A dreidel is a spinning top used in a Hanukkah game; the picture snap, bingo and memory resources here offer their own ways to match and play.

Use contemporary Jewish stories, voices and photographs alongside the printables. Family contributions are welcome, without expecting one child or family to speak for everyone. Children can learn about a celebration without being required to observe it themselves.

Begin with adult-supported looking, large marks and simple matching for younger children. Select number ranges, vocabulary and ways to respond for preschool, Reception and selected KS1 uses. A printed 1–10 range does not mean every child should use every number.

The age and setting suggestions are possible starting points, rather than a fixed sequence or a curriculum scheme.

The 6 resources in Start with something free use Free Access. Other individual downloads use All Access. Cards identify the resource and its destination; related collections have their own access information.

The Hanukkah topic resources have editable Word and PDF versions. Check the destination for available formats. Search for free to show only the cards labelled Free Access on this page.