Hanukkah 2024 begins at sundown on December 25 and will continue through January 2, 2025.
According to Time, this is the first time since 2005 that the first night of Hanukkah falls on the same day as Christmas. The outlet notes that since 1900, the first night of Hanukkah has fallen on Christmas in 1910, 1921, 1959, 2005, and 2024.
As for why Hanukkah starts on a different date each year, this is due to Jewish holidays being observed on a lunisolar calendar and not a 365-day Gregorian calendar, which is used with American and Christian holidays. Reader’s Digest says a lunisolar calendar “keeps track of the earth’s orbit around the sun to determine a year’s length but also factors in the phases of the moon to determine the beginning and end of each new month.” As a result, holiday dates don’t always match up year after year.
Of course, one thing that was introduced a few decades ago that hasn’t changed is Adam Sandler referring to Hanukkah as “Eight Crazy Nights” in the iconic “Hanukkah Song.” (Shout out to David Lee Roth, who lights the menorah.)
With this in mind, we thought we’d look back at eight crazy nights in rock history. Enjoy and Happy Hanukkah!