Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. As I am Jewish, my family and I celebrate (祝う) this holiday every year.
Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights (光の祭り) and lasts for eight nights. Each night, we sing special prayers (祈り) and light candles on a nine-branched candelabrum (枝付き燭台) called a Hanukkah menorah. We start with two and add a candle every night until the entire menorah is lit. We also exchange presents (プレゼントを交換する), play games, and enjoy traditional (伝統的な) food like beef brisket, latkes (potato pancakes), and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts). Delish!
While Christmas Day is always on December 25th, Hanukkah's starting date is different every year. This is because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar (太陰太陽暦). This year, Hanukkah started today at sundown and will end at sundown next Monday, December 6th. The November 28th stating date is extremely early (極端に早い) for the holiday.
Spinning my dreidel,
Alan
P.S. The earliest starting date for Hanukkah is November 27th, which will not happen again until 2032!
