On the Jewish calendar, the holidays are either early or late. They’re never on time. This year, the holidays are very late.
I like to think Hanukah, which is traditionally not the gift giving holiday, moved to take advantage of Christmas sales. But really it’s a calendar quirk.
Chanukah or Hanukkah or Chanuka — or however the hell you want to spell it — begins on the 25th of Kislev or the day after Christmas this year.
Kislev’s one of the 12 months on the lunar calendar that’s used to figure when Jewish holidays occur. The new month begins on the new moon.