Hanukkah starts on Christmas Day in 2024 in rare occurrence

This year, the first night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah will fall on the same day as Christmas for the first time since 2005.

Christmas and Hanukkah both always fall on the 25th, but of two different months, with Christmas coming on the 25th of December on the Gregorian calendar, and Hanukkah starting on the 25th day of the month of Kislev in the Jewish calendar.

Hanukkah's start date on the Gregorian calendar varies year by year because the Jewish calendar is based on luni-solar calendar cycles. According to Chabad, months under the Hebrew calendar follow a lunar cycle, lasting about 354 days. To keep from falling behind the approximately 365-day solar calendar, there's a 13th month on the Jewish calendar every few years to make a "leap year."