Write "Happy Hanukkah", the person's name, a wish for light and a happy eight nights, and one detail that belongs to them. Sign with your first name. In Hebrew the greeting is חג שמח (Chag Sameach), "happy holiday". Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday 4 December. In 2027 it begins at sundown on Friday 24 December. Twenty messages to copy follow.
What do you write in a Hanukkah card?
Start with "Happy Hanukkah". Wish them light, warmth and good evenings with family. Then add something only you would say: the latkes their father makes, the year the dog ate the chocolate coins, the menorah that came from a grandmother. Sign it. Three or four lines is right.
Hanukkah lasts eight nights. Each night one more candle is lit, until all eight burn on the last night. It marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean revolt in the second century BCE (Hebcal).
Who might you be writing to? Pew Research Center estimates there are about 7.5 million Jewish people in the United States, from a survey of 4,718 Jewish adults (Pew Research Center). Worldwide, Pew counts 14.8 million (Pew Research Center).
How do you write Happy Hanukkah in Hebrew?
Write חג שמח (Chag Sameach), which means "happy holiday", or חג אורים שמח (Chag Urim Sameach), "happy festival of lights". חנוכה שמח (Chanukah Sameach) means "happy Hanukkah". Hebrew is written from right to left. One Hebrew line at the top, then the rest in English, is a warm touch. "Happy Hanukkah" alone is always fine.
| Hebrew | How to say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| חג שמח | Chag Sameach (chahg sah-MAY-ach) | Happy holiday |
| חג אורים שמח | Chag Urim Sameach (chahg oo-REEM sah-MAY-ach) | Happy festival of lights |
| חנוכה שמח | Chanukah Sameach | Happy Hanukkah |
| שנה טובה | Shanah Tovah | A good year (for Rosh Hashanah, not Hanukkah) |
The pronunciations are from My Jewish Learning. The "ch" is the sound at the end of "loch". Both "Hanukkah" and "Chanukah" are correct spellings in English, because the word is Hebrew and English has no exact match for its first letter.
MailMyCard writes with a real pen in 112 languages and scripts, Hebrew among them. Type the greeting in Hebrew and the pen writes it right to left.
Hanukkah messages for family
Dear Bubbe, חג שמח. I made your latkes from the card in your handwriting. They stuck to the pan, as they always did for me. I will call on the first night. Love, Rachel
Dear Mum and Dad, Happy Hanukkah. This is my first one away from home. I lit the travel menorah you packed, on the windowsill in Berlin. Save me a doughnut. Noah
Dear Eli, Happy Hanukkah, little brother. You still owe me eleven chocolate coins from the dreidel game of 1998. I am counting. Hannah
Dear Zayde, חג אורים שמח. The children ask every night if they can light "Zayde's candle" first. They mean the helper candle. We miss you at the table. Love, Miriam
Dear Aunt Ruth, Happy Hanukkah. Your parcel of gelt arrived in one piece. It lasted one evening. Thank you for thinking of the boys. Daniel
Dear Talia and Ben, Happy Hanukkah on your first one as a married couple. May the flat smell of frying oil for eight nights. With love, Aunt Judith
Hanukkah messages for friends and neighbours
Dear Sarah, Happy Hanukkah. Thank you for having us over on the fifth night last year. Our daughter still talks about the spinning top. Have a lovely week. Claire
Dear Josh, Happy Hanukkah, my friend. Twenty years since you taught me to play dreidel in the student kitchen and took all my change. Enjoy the eight nights. Matt
Dear the Goldbergs, Happy Hanukkah from number 9. We love seeing the candles in your window each night as we walk the dog. Warm wishes, Anita and Raj
Dear Naomi, Happy Hanukkah. I know this is the first one since your dad died. I remember his terrible jokes at your table. Thinking of you all. Love, Emma
Dear Aaron, Chag Sameach. I hope the new baby lets you both sit down long enough to light the candles. Come round when you can. Pete
Hanukkah messages for colleagues
Dear Rebecca, Happy Hanukkah. Thank you for covering the December rota three years running so the rest of us could take leave. Enjoy every night of it. Tom
Dear David, Happy Hanukkah to you and the family. The doughnuts you brought in last year were gone by ten. No pressure. See you in the new year. Priya
Dear Dr Levy, Chag Sameach. Thank you for a year of patient teaching. I am a better nurse for it. I hope the on-call phone stays quiet for you. Sinead
Dear Shira, Happy Hanukkah. Your first year on the team and the Tel Aviv launch would not have happened without you. Have a bright week. Marcus
Hanukkah messages for clients
Dear Mr Rosen, Happy Hanukkah to you and your family. Thank you for fifteen years of trusting us with the books. It is a pleasure every January. Warm wishes, Helen
Dear Ms Katz, Happy Hanukkah. Thank you for choosing us for the shop refit this spring. I hope the new window looks its best with the candles in it. James
Dear Adam, Chag Sameach. Thank you for sending your brother our way in June. We looked after him as you would have. Wishing you a bright eight nights. Sophie
What should a non-Jewish sender know about Hanukkah cards?
Three things. Hanukkah is not a Jewish Christmas, so keep Christmas pictures and words off the card. The Hanukkah lamp has nine branches, not seven. And a plain "Happy Hanukkah" from a friend or colleague is welcome. You do not need Hebrew, and you do not need to be Jewish to send it.
Do:
- Send it for the start of the eight nights. A card that lands during the week is still in time.
- Use blue, white, silver or candlelight if you are choosing a design. A nine-branched lamp, a dreidel or plain candles all work.
- Count the branches. The Hanukkah lamp, called a hanukkiah, has eight lights plus a ninth helper candle, the shamash, that lights the others. The seven-branched menorah is a different, older symbol.
Do not:
- Write "Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah" on one card to someone who keeps only Hanukkah. Send the card for their festival.
- Use trees, Santa, stockings or red and green.
- Treat it as the biggest day of the Jewish year. Hanukkah is a minor festival. The major ones fall in autumn and spring. Warm and light is the right tone.
- Send food that may not be kosher unless you know the household.
Many families are mixed, which is why this comes up so often. Pew found that 42 per cent of married Jewish adults in the US have a non-Jewish spouse, rising to 61 per cent among those married since 2010 (Pew Research Center). Plenty of Hanukkah cards are written by in-laws and friends. In 2027 the first night falls on 24 December. If a family keeps both festivals, send two cards.
If you are unsure whether to send one at all, send it. Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley found in 2018 that people who wrote letters of thanks underestimated how pleased the reader would be and overestimated the awkwardness (Psychological Science).
Do people send cards for Rosh Hashanah too?
Yes. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year in early autumn, is the older card-sending moment. The greeting is שנה טובה (Shanah Tovah), "a good year", or שנה טובה ומתוקה (Shanah Tovah u'Metukah), "a good and sweet year". In 2027 it begins at sundown on Friday 1 October (Hebcal).
The custom is centuries old. My Jewish Learning traces posted new year greetings to the 14th century and says they took off after postcards were invented in the late 1860s (My Jewish Learning). It is a more serious season than Hanukkah, so keep the tone warm and calm.
Dear Mr and Mrs Stein, שנה טובה. Wishing you both a good and sweet year. Thank you for the honey cake last autumn. We finished it in a day. Laura next door
Dear Rabbi Cohen, Shanah Tovah u'Metukah. Thank you for your kindness to our family this year, above all in March. With gratitude, Susan
When should you post a Hanukkah card?
Post so it arrives in the week before the first night. For addresses abroad, order four weeks ahead, since international post takes one to three weeks and the December post is busy. For Hanukkah beginning 4 December 2026, that means ordering in early November.
| Moment | Order by | What can trigger it |
|---|---|---|
| Hanukkah, family and friends abroad | Four weeks before the first night | You, on the site |
| Hanukkah, clients | Four to five weeks before | A Google Sheet we watch, or HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho |
| Hanukkah, colleagues at home addresses | Four weeks before | A Google Sheet or Zapier |
| Rosh Hashanah | Four weeks before, in late August or early September | You, on the site |
| Both, every year | Set once | A Schedule, checked each year because the dates move |
MailMyCard writes each card with a real pen and posts it from India. We do not promise an exact day. The delivery time calculator turns the window into dates for any country. A single card is $14.99. Businesses sending 50 or more agree a price per card, from $8.99 for a pilot of 50 and falling with volume, on the For business page. The developer docs cover the API.
A word on client cards. Do not add an offer. In a 2022 study of 1,232 customers of an online beauty shop, a handwritten thank-you note roughly doubled later spending, from $25.97 to $52.07. A typed note did nothing, and the effect faded when a coupon was attached (Science Says, summarising Kim, Choi and Kim). That study was about thank-you notes, not festival cards, so treat it as a guide to tone. For the rest of your December list, see our business holiday card messages.
Americans buy about 6.5 billion greeting cards a year, according to the Greeting Card Association.
Questions people ask
Is it Hanukkah or Chanukah?
Both are right. The word is Hebrew, and its first letter has no exact match in English. Use whichever the family uses.
Can I send a Hanukkah card if I am not Jewish?
Yes. "Happy Hanukkah" from a friend, neighbour or colleague is welcome. Keep Christmas wording and pictures off it, and do not attempt prayers. A warm line about the person is all it needs.
Is a Hanukkah card late after the first night?
No. The festival lasts eight nights, so a card that arrives during the week is on time. After the eighth night, send a plain new year note.
Sources
- Hebcal, Chanukah 2027 and other years: hebcal.com
- Hebcal, Rosh Hashana 2027: hebcal.com
- Pew Research Center (2021), "10 key findings about Jewish Americans": pewresearch.org
- Pew Research Center (2025), "How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020": pewresearch.org
- My Jewish Learning, "How to greet someone on Hanukkah": myjewishlearning.com
- My Jewish Learning, "Do Jews send Rosh Hashanah cards?": myjewishlearning.com
- Kumar, A. and Epley, N. (2018), "Undervaluing Gratitude", Psychological Science: psychologicalscience.org
- Kim, S., Choi, J. and Kim, S. H. (2022), Journal of Interactive Marketing, summarised by Science Says
- Greeting Card Association, "Facts & Stats 2019": greetingcard.org
