Yom Tov guide · winter 5787 / 2026
Chanukah 2026 in Jerusalem, with your own candle in the window.
Eight nights, the Kotel menorah, a thousand Geulah glass boxes glowing from every window.
This winter — 5787 / 2026: begins Friday evening, December 4, 2026 — first candle just before Shabbos candles (~4:01pm in Jerusalem) — through Shabbos, December 12, 2026.
Still booking Chanukah 2026. Parent visits and multi-gen winter stays — reserve now.
Further out: 5788 runs December 24, 2027 through January 2, 2028 — after this winter’s inventory is set.
Chanukah in Jerusalem is the winter Yom Tov most frum families don't realize they wanted until they've done it. Here's how we plan it.
What Makes Chanukah in Jerusalem Different
In chutz-la'aretz, Chanukah is a window lighting. In Jerusalem, Chanukah is the entire street lit. Walk through Geulah or Mea Shearim on night 4: every ground-floor window has a glass-boxed chanukiah facing outward, every upstairs window has a family gathered around olive-oil cups, and the whole corridor is glowing. The pirsumei nisa isn't just yours — it's the city's.
The Kotel menorah lighting each night of Chanukah is a tekes with Hallel, a drash, and a crowd of thousands. The first night and the eighth night are the most popular; night 4 or 5 is quieter and more intimate if you want space to daven.
The Yeshiva / Seminary Parent Overlap
Chanukah week is the second-largest yeshiva / seminary parent visit window of the year (after Cheshvan). If you're traveling to see a child in learning, see our institution-specific guides:
Booking Timing
Chanukah hotel availability tightens 3-4 months out. Book by Tishrei or Cheshvan for the following Kislev. For parent-visit families, book 5-6 months out — hotels near yeshiva and seminary dorms fill faster than general Chanukah demand.
Chanukah with Children
Chanukah in Jerusalem is a particularly vivid experience for children. The visual impact of walking through Geulah or Mea Shearim on night 4 or 5 — hundreds of glass-box chanukiahs glowing from street level, families gathered in every window — leaves an impression that children carry for decades.
The hotel lobby lighting each night, typically timed around ma'ariv, gives children a communal menorah moment even before any street walking begins. Most mehadrin hotels also run some form of Chanukah children's programming — sufganiyot making, dreidel competitions, a Chanukah story hour — in the evenings.
If your children want to light their own chanukiah (rather than just watch the hotel lobby lighting), coordinate with us before arrival. Many hotels designate a protected area — typically glass cases in the lobby or a specific hallway — where guest families can set up their own chanukiahs for pirsumei nisa without room fire-safety concerns. We confirm the specific arrangement with your hotel in your pre-arrival brief.
Shabbos Chanukah
When Chanukah overlaps with Shabbos — which happens most years — candle lighting order on Erev Shabbos requires care. The widely accepted practice is to light Chanukah candles before Shabbos candles on Friday afternoon, since once Shabbos candles are lit Shabbos has begun and melachah is prohibited. This means the Chanukah candles on Friday must be lit early enough to still be burning for at least thirty minutes after dark — so you may need longer-burning candles or to use oil. Check your candle lengths before Friday of Chanukah.
On motzei Shabbos, the reverse applies: Havdalah is recited before lighting Chanukah candles. (Some have the practice to light first and make Havdalah immediately after; your minhag and posek apply.) Hotels coordinate Friday kitchen and dining-room schedules around the earlier-than-usual Shabbos candle lighting during Chanukah, but confirm with the hotel what time they begin Kabbalas Shabbos services so you have the full timeline.
What it costs
Room rates during Chanukah fall in our published bands — roughly $200–$450 per room per night at the value and mid-tier hotels, and higher at the premium properties and across Shabbos and Yom Tov dates. Full Yom Tov board programs are quoted per family. See our pricing page for the hotel-by-hotel table.
Related Reading
Where to stay
Our Hotels for a Chanukah Trip
Mehadrin by HaRav Efrati Romema
Yirmiyahu 33
A new, luxurious hotel on Yirmiyahu Street in Romema with Mehadrin kashrus supervised by HaRav Efrati and a full-time Mashgiach Temidi — plus pool, spa, underground parking with car charging, and 5-minute walk to the central bus station and train.
Badatz Agudat Yisrael Pines Street
Prima Palace
A full-service kosher hotel at 2a Pines Street near Geulah and Mea Shearim with Badatz Agudat Yisrael kashrus, on-site mikveh and shul, daily Daf Yomi, free parking (limited, first come first serve), and easy access to the frum heart of Jerusalem.
Badatz Eida HaChareidis Haneviim Street
Haneviim Boutique
A boutique hotel and luxury apartment property on Haneviim Street with Badatz Eida HaChareidis kashrus — 49 hotel rooms and 8 apartments (2-night minimum, no meals), on-site mikveh and shul, daily Daf Yomi, rabbi on premises, and walking distance to the Old City.
Badatz Mehadrin Rabbanut Yerushalayim Romema
Jerusalem Gate Hotel
The most affordable of the four JRM hotels — a 298-room glatt kosher hotel at 43 Yirmiyahu Street in Romema with Badatz Mehadrin Rabbanut Yerushalayim and OU supervision, direct access to Center One Shopping Mall and Fitness Club (free for guests), with light rail and central bus station nearby.
Ready to start?
Planning a Chanukah Trip?
Tell us whether it's a yeshiva-parent trip or a family Chanukah vacation, how many in the party, and the dates. We match hotel to menorah-proximity and to whatever else the trip needs.
Start the conversationMenorah lighting policy at hotels
Ask where menorahs may be lit (room, lobby, designated area) and what the hotel forbids for fire safety. We confirm policy for your dates.