in 2007 Hanukkah begins . . .

Hanukkah begins each year on the 25th of Kislev which first of all, is the day that the components were completed for the portable sanctuary or "Tabernacle" ordered by God and built under Moses' direction to house the Lord during the Israelites' journeys through the desert. That was the year 2449 from creation (1312 BCE). The Mishkan (Tabernacle) was assembled 3 months later, when, beginning on Adar 25 of that year, it was erected and taken down daily for a 7-day "training" period prior to its dedication on the 1st of Nissan.

Even more interesting than that, 12 centuries later on Kislev 25 (164 BCE), the Maccabees re-dedicated the Holy Temple after defeating Antiochus. It was on this day that the priest lit the Menorah in the Temple, the oil that miraculously continued to burn for 8 days. The Jewish people had not been able to perform Temple service for over 3 years. So to once again worship God in the Temple was an awesome thing.

And so this year (2007), 25 Kislev (Hebrew calendar) is December 5 (Julian calendar). But since God instructed that the day begins at sundown, the first Hannukah candle is lit the evening of December 4. The day itself is determined according to the moon.