For many American Jews, the timing of Hanukkah — the Jewish Festival of Lights — couldnâÂÂt be better.

The holiday usually occurs in mid-December, but occasionally it falls in late November, as it does this year. Hanukkah, an eight-day celebration, began at sundown Friday.

Coming just a day after Thanksgiving, many Jews still will be together with family members when itâÂÂs time to light a candle marking the first few nights of the Jewish holiday.

ThatâÂÂs the case for Corey Rittmaster, Jewish student life coordinator at the Kansas University Hillel Foundation, 940 Miss.

âÂÂIâÂÂll be with family here in Kansas City,â said Rittmaster, who was reached on his cell phone Friday. âÂÂThis year Hanukkah came so close to Thanksgiving, so we already have many family members in town: grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins — the whole deal.âÂÂ

ItâÂÂs unusual for Hanukkah to come so closely on the heels of Thanksgiving, a holiday that brings most American families — and Jews — together.

âÂÂThis is about as early as youâÂÂre going to find it. Typically, itâÂÂs in mid-December,â Rittmaster said. âÂÂBut the Jewish calendar is lunar; thatâÂÂs why the dates (of Jewish holidays like Hanukkah) fall differently every year on the secular, or Gregorian, calendar.âÂÂ

Allyson Tash is also happy about the convenient timing of Hanukkah this year.

Tash is the Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow at KU Hillel, a one-year position. Her job is to engage students on campus in Jewish life.

Tash went home to Baldwin, N.Y., on the south shore of Long Island, to be with her family for Thanksgiving Ãi¿½” and, as it happens, a few nights of Hanukkah.

âÂÂI canâÂÂt recall the last time Hanukkah was the day after Thanksgiving. ItâÂÂs great for students. They have the opportunity to be with their families the first couple of nights, and then celebrate with fellow students when they get back to school,â Tash said.

The Festival of Lights is a happy time for TashâÂÂs family.

âÂÂWe eat latkes (potato pancakes fried in oil), we light the menorah (a special candelabrum) and just spend time together. When we were younger, we used to exchange presents,â she said. âÂÂBut the main thing is to get together and light the menorah.âÂÂ

During Hanukkah, Jews light candles placed in a candelabrum that has eight branches and a holder for the shamash, or helper candle, thatâÂÂs used to light the others.

The ritual recalls the story of a container of pure oil found in the sacred Jewish Temple in Jerusalem — enough to burn for one day — that miraculously lasted for eight days.