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Too many words for this thread/forum, but interesting nonetheless:

Thanksgiving is inexorably set as the fourth Thursday in November. That means the latest any Thanksgiving can happen is on November 28th. As for Chanukah, the earliest it can occur is November 28th. The Jewish calendar repeats on a 19 year cycle. Thanksgiving repeats on a 7 year cycle. You would therefore expect them to coincide roughly every 133 years (19x7). Looking back, this is approximately correct.

Once in an eternity will Chanukah and Thanksgiving overlap. They will this year on November 28, 2013.

That’s never happened before... and it will never happen again. Here comes more than you wanted to know! – the last time it could have happened was in 1861. But Thanksgiving was not established until 1893. So that’s never happened before and won’t happen again. Why? Because the Jewish calendar is very slowly getting out of sync with the solar calendar, at a rate of 4 days per 1000 years (not bad for a many centuries old calendar!) This means that while Chanukah can be as early as November 28th, over the years the calendar will drift forward, so that the earliest Chanukah can be is November 29th.

The next time Chanukah will fall on November 28th is in the year 2146 (which is a Monday). Therefore, 2013 is the only time Chanukah will ever be the same day as Thanksgiving. Of course, if the Jewish calendar is never modified in any way, it will slowly move forward through the Gregorian calendar, until it loops all the way back to where it is now. So, Chanukah will again fall on Thursday, November 28th in the year 79,811. Consider that as "never again".

Edited by Wmcmanus
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