Hanukkah 2026: Two Shabbos Nights, What's Open, When to Order

Hanukkah 2026 begins at nightfall on Friday, December 4 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12. The first candle is lit Friday night, December 4, and the eighth candle Friday night, December 11. Chanukah, if that is how your family spells it, is eight nights of dinners, a school party or two, a box of candles on the counter, and a doughnut order that has to go in before anyone else thinks of it.

This guide covers the two nights that change the week, what actually closes, and the dates to order by.

The Calendar Map

Eight nights. Two of them are Shabbos, and that is the part the date pages skip.

• Friday, December 4, first candle. Also erev Shabbos. Restaurants close early, as on any Friday, and the Chanukah candles are lit earlier than on a weeknight.
• Shabbos, December 5, second candle. Closed through nightfall. The second candle is lit Saturday night, after Havdalah.
• Sunday, December 6 through Thursday, December 10, candles three to seven. Ordinary weeknights. Restaurants, bakeries, and caterers keep their regular weekday pattern, and this is the stretch where the school and office parties land.
• Friday, December 11, eighth candle. Erev Shabbos again. Early closures, candles lit earlier.
• Shabbos, December 12. The last day of Hanukkah. Closed through nightfall, and then it is over.

The practical shape: two early Fridays, two closed Saturdays, five normal nights in between.

What Closes

Nothing closes for Hanukkah. It is not Yom Tov. Work is permitted, schools run, and a kosher restaurant that opens on an ordinary Tuesday opens on the Tuesday of Hanukkah too. If you have read a page that says otherwise, it was written for a different holiday.

What changes is the two Shabbosos wrapped around the week, and the December party rush. The Friday closures come earlier than they did in the summer, because sunset lands in the late afternoon. Saturday night reopenings run late. And the weeknights in between are busier than usual, because schools, shuls, and offices are holding their parties in the same five-day window.

The Deadline That Costs You Dinner

Sufganiyot and latkes get ordered ahead, like any party food. Kosher bakeries take sufganiyot pre-orders for Hanukkah, caterers put together latke and party platters, and the pickup slots for the first weekend go first.

Two dates:

1. Order by Wednesday, December 2 for the first weekend. Friday, December 4 is both the first candle and erev Shabbos, so the Friday pickup window is short and crowded. Anything you want on the table that night, or for Shabbos lunch, should be on a list by Wednesday.
2. Order by Wednesday, December 9 for the closing weekend. Friday, December 11 is the eighth candle and another erev Shabbos, so it is the same squeeze a week later.

For the school or office party in between, order the week before and name the pickup day when you do. Two dozen sufganiyot are an easy order a week ahead and a scramble on the day.

Find Hanukkah Food by City

Hours shift community by community around the holiday. Check listings before relying on anything:

• Hanukkah in Los Angeles
• Hanukkah in Miami
• Hanukkah in Lakewood
• Hanukkah in Queens
• Hanukkah in Chicago
• Hanukkah in Boca Raton
• Hanukkah in Teaneck
• Hanukkah in Brooklyn

Or browse kosher restaurants near you, including the bakeries and caterers taking the party orders.

The Rest of the Calendar

After Hanukkah, the next what's-open question is Purim, on Tuesday, March 23, 2027, and Pesach follows in the spring. See the Hanukkah holiday guide for the foods and the lighting basics, the Jewish holidays 2026 calendar for the year closing out, and the Jewish holidays 2027 calendar to start planning the spring.

Chanukah sameach. May the order be in before the oil is hot, and may the eighth candle find you with doughnuts to spare.