when do you light the menorah 2025

You light the menorah in 2025 on each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, starting the evening of Sunday, December 14, and continuing through the evening of Sunday, December 21, lighting after sunset or at nightfall depending on custom. On Friday night the menorah is lit earlier, before Shabbat candles and before sundown, and on Saturday night it is lit only after Shabbat ends.

Key 2025 lighting dates

• 1st candle: Sunday night, December 14, 2025 (25 Kislev).

• 2nd candle: Monday night, December 15, 2025.

• 3rd candle: Tuesday night, December 16, 2025.

• 4th candle: Wednesday night, December 17, 2025.

• 5th candle: Thursday night, December 18, 2025.

• 6th candle: Friday afternoon, December 19, 2025, before Shabbat and before sunset.

• 7th candle: Saturday night, December 20, 2025, after nightfall and after Havdalah.

• 8th candle: Sunday night, December 21, 2025.

What time each night?

• Many communities light at sunset , while others wait until full nightfall (about 30 minutes after sunset), as long as the candles can burn at least 30 minutes past nightfall.

• In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in 2025, guidance for the first night gives examples around 4:38–4:41 p.m. for a sunset lighting and a few minutes before 5 p.m. for nightfall.

Basic how‑to each night

• Place the new candle on the left, light the shamash, and use it to light the candles from left to right (newest one first).

• On the first night, three blessings are recited; on the remaining nights, two blessings are recited before lighting.

Quick forum-style note

In community and family practice, people often just say “light right after sunset each night of Hanukkah,” adjusting only for Friday (earlier, before Shabbat) and Saturday (later, after Shabbat), while keeping the number of candles correct for each night.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.