Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, begins on the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar — which falls on a different Gregorian date each year. This countdown targets the first night.
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of one day's oil burning for eight. Each night another candle of the menorah is lit, alongside games of dreidel and foods fried in oil like latkes and sufganiyot.
Because it follows the Hebrew lunar calendar, Hanukkah can begin anywhere from late November to late December. It lasts eight nights, with the menorah growing brighter each evening.