When is the eight days of Hanukkah begin?

Answer 1

There are no rules about Hanukkah presents.

Some families exchange presents, and some do not. Gift giving is most common among American and Canadian Jews, but it's a custom that only started a few decades ago due to influence from Christmas.

If gifts are exchanged, they are usually given each night during the 8 nights of the holiday. There is no rule about how many presents are given each night, but it is often 1 per night.

Answer:The only traditional gift during Hanukkah is the gelt (coins) given to children.

Answer 2

When the Macabees rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem (during their rebellion against the Seleucid Empire, which returned the city to Jewish rule), they relit the Eternal Light which can still be seen burning in all synagogues. The Light took the form of a large, seven-branched candelabra called a menorah. However, they found that there was only enough oil to keep it lit for a single day - yet, miraculously, it burned for eight days, giving them sufficient time to prepare and consecrate more oil. Since then, the miracle has been celebrated every Hanukkah by lighting a special nine-branched menorah (eight branches for eight flames and one for the shamash, a candle used to light the others) called a hanukiyah or Hanukkah-menorah.

Answer 3

The whole holiday is called Hanukkah; the individual days have no special names. If one wanted to refer to a particular day, it is called "the first day of Hanukkah" "the second day of Hankkah" etc.

Some (mainly Hasidic) customarily refer to the last day of Hanukkah as "Zos Hanukkah" (lit. "this is Hanukkah") after the Torah portion read that day.

Answer 4

Hanukkah always starts on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev, and lasts for eight days. The Hebrew calendar does not line up with the western calendar because it has a completely different leap year system that can shift holidays each year by to 11-28 days.

Here are the coinciding secular dates for the upcoming years. The candle lightings begin on the evening BEFORE the first date:

2011: December 20-28

2012: December 8-16

2013: November 27-December 5

2014: December 16-24

2015: December 6-14

Answer 5

The third day of Hanukkah is the day after the second day, and the day right before the fourth day. But it has no special name.

Answer 6

There is no special name. It is just the eight and final day of Hanukkah. It is sometimes called "Zot Chanukah" by Orthodox Jews.