Beeswax Hanukkah Candles

Pure beeswax Hanukkah candles, hand-dipped and undyed, with enough in a set for all eight nights. At 11.6 inches, they stand taller than the usual box candle and burn about two and a half hours, so the light in the window lasts the whole evening.

When Is Hanukkah? Dates and Candle Guide

The Festival of Lights runs for eight nights and moves against the civil calendar, because it follows the Hebrew one and begins on the 25th of Kislev. Here are the next three years, and what you need for each of them.

2026Next Hanukkah
Dec 4 to Dec 12 8 nights · begins Friday
2027
Dec 24 to Jan 1 8 nights · begins Friday
2028
Dec 12 to Dec 20 8 nights · begins Tuesday

Buying ahead?

Because the date shifts, Hanukkah can land anywhere from late November to the end of December. In 2027, the first candle falls on December 24 and the eighth night is New Year's Eve, which is easy to miss when you are already planning something else.

Beeswax has no shelf life. Stored flat and away from heat, a set holds its shape from one December to the next, so buying early costs you nothing but the wait.

Lighting Menorahs for a Synagogue, School or Community?

One menorah takes 44 candles to get through all eight nights. Ten menorahs take 440. A Hebrew school where every child lights their own runs through more than that in a week, and a public lighting burns through the tallest candles you can give it. Order Hanukkah candles in bulk, and the price per candle drops as the quantity grows. Same 100% pure beeswax, same 2.5-hour burn, hand-packed and shipped from the United States.

Request Bulk Pricing
  • Lower price per candle as the quantity grows
  • Custom quotes for synagogues, Hebrew schools and community centers
  • Order early: Hanukkah is a fixed eight-day window, and there is no second chance in December
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How Many Hanukkah Candles Do You Need?

Forty-four for the whole festival. One candle on the first night, two on the second, and so on up to eight on the eighth, which comes to 36. Add a shamash for each of the eight nights, and the total is 44. That is why 44 and 45 are the counts the whole trade settles on.

Hanukkah Candles Needed, Night by Night
Night Candles lit Plus shamash Running total
First night 1 1 2
Second night 2 1 5
Third night 3 1 9
Fourth night 4 1 14
Fifth night 5 1 20
Sixth night 6 1 27
Seventh night 7 1 35
Eighth night 8 1 44

The set of 45 covers all eight nights with one candle over. The set of 90 is for a house where the menorah is lit in more than one place: many families give each child their own lamp, or keep one in the front window and a second on the table where everyone eats. Two menorahs across eight nights come to 88, so 90 covers the festival exactly.

The wax is sourced in Spain, hand-dipped at our family-owned facility in Lithuania, and packed by hand in the United States.

Why Beeswax for Eight Nights in the Window

The menorah is traditionally placed where it can be seen, in a window facing the street, so the light is not kept to the house alone. That one custom decides almost everything practical about the candle you choose.

  • Eight nights against a window frame.

    A paraffin candle leaves a fine dark film, and eight consecutive evenings in the same spot is long enough for it to show on the frame, the sill, and the curtain behind it. Beeswax gives off very little soot, which is the whole reason it is worth the difference here.

  • A flame that outlasts the evening.

    The short box candle sold for menorahs is built to the thirty-minute minimum and often barely clears it. Two and a half hours means the lamp is still burning while dinner finishes and the guests are still in the room.

  • Light that carries to the street.

    At 11.6 inches, these stand roughly three times the height of a standard menorah candle. The point of the window is that the light is seen from outside, and a taller flame does that better.

  • Amber, not dyed.

    The color is the wax itself, filtered but never bleached and never dyed, with the faint honey note that comes with it. A room lit by eight of them looks different from a room lit by eight dyed paraffin candles, and it smells like nothing at all except warm wax.

How to Light Hanukkah Candles in the Right Order

The order catches almost everyone out the first time, because the two directions are not the same.

  • Place the candles from right to left.

    On the first night, the candle goes in the rightmost holder. Each following night the new one is added to its left.

  • Light them from left to right.

    The newest candle, the one you just added, is kindled first, and you work back toward the right.

  • The shamash is lit before any of them

    Used to light the rest. It is not counted among the eight and typically sits higher or off to one side.

Blessings are recited as the candles are kindled, two on most nights and three on the first. The wording varies a little between communities, so use your own siddur or ask your rabbi rather than a candle maker. The menorah is customarily lit after nightfall, and on Friday evening it is kindled before the Shabbat candles rather than after.

Standard menorah cups are cut for a candle around 3/8 of an inch at the base, so at 11/32 these seat without fuss in most lamps. If yours run wider, warm the base for a moment in a flame and press it into the cup.

A window is the traditional place for the menorah and also the draftiest spot in the room, so close the window before lighting and keep the flames clear of a moving curtain. Never leave burning candles unattended, particularly with the lamp in a window.

The Festival of Lights: Why We Kindle Candles for Eight Nights

Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, runs for eight days. When the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was rededicated, there was only enough consecrated oil left to keep the lamp burning for a single day, and it burned for eight. That is the miracle the holiday remembers, and it is why the lamp is kindled a little more brightly each evening instead of all at once.

Oil is still used in some homes, and a Chanukah menorah fitted for oil is a beautiful thing to watch, but candles are the more common choice now, and they do the same work. Around them sit the rest of the holiday traditions: the food, the games, the family in one warm room for a week in winter.

Questions & Answers

What Are Hanukkah Candles Called?

Three words come up, and strictly speaking they are not interchangeable. The shamash is the helper candle: it lights the other eight and is not counted among them. A menorah, in the oldest sense, is the seven-branched lampstand of the Temple. A Hanukkiah is the Hanukkah lamp proper, with nine branches, eight for the eight nights and one for the shamash. In everyday American use, almost everyone calls the Hanukkah lamp a menorah, and so do we on this page.

Can Beeswax Tapers Be Used in a Menorah?

Yes. Most menorahs are cut for a candle around 3/8 of an inch at the base, and ours measure about 0.33 inch, a hair under, so in the great majority of lamps they seat without fuss. What is worth checking is the height rather than the width.

At 11.6 inches, these stand well above the row of a standard menorah, so a light or narrow-based lamp is worth testing with a single candle before the first night. Beyond that, there is nothing unusual about a beeswax taper in a Chanukah menorah. It is what these lamps were made for long before paraffin existed.

Can You Use Any Candles for Hanukkah?

Broadly, yes. The common guidance is that the candles burn for at least thirty minutes after they are kindled, and that the eight match one another in size, with the shamash set apart. The material itself is open, which is why olive oil, paraffin, and beeswax are all in use. Customs differ between communities, so follow your own or ask your rabbi.

Are These Hanukkah Candles Dripless and Smokeless?

In still air, yes. Drips and smoke almost always come from a draft, a leaning candle, or an untrimmed wick, and at Hanukkah the draft is the real risk, because the menorah tends to stand in a window.

What Colors Do Your Hanukkah Candles Come In?

Natural, undyed beeswax only. The color is the wax itself—amber and slightly different from batch to batch because no dye is added.

Closterra also offers white, black, red, green, blue, and purple slim tapers for other uses. Our blue-and-white set measures 0.20–0.24″ in diameter, while the Hanukkah candles in this collection measure 0.33″. For that reason, the blue-and-white set is not presented as a substitute for these Hanukkah candles. Please check the diameter of your menorah cups before ordering.

Can I Order Hanukkah Candles in Bulk for a Community?

The set of 90 is the largest Hanukkah set on this page, and it covers two menorahs through the whole festival. For a synagogue, a school, or a community lighting, larger quantities can be arranged directly.

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“Candles look wonderful, fast shipping and great communication with seller. I will order again!”

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Yellow 100% Pure Beeswax Taper - All Year Round