Jaffa (starting December 6): Every December, Jaffa is home to a month-long celebration of Hanukkah and Christmas, expressing the multicultural nature of the city. This year, at Jaffa's iconic Clock Square, visitors will be able to enjoy illuminated art installations alongside the traditional Christmas tree (December 6 – January 19), a huge hanukkiah (December 10-19) and a crescent.
Tours will also be offered across the city, businesses in Jaffa's Noga District will display multidisciplinary artwork and Yefet St. will be decorated for the festivities. There will also be live and online concerts, a motorized Santa Claus procession, distribution of home decoration kits, joint candle lighting for neighbors, and a range of cultural and communal activities.
Two large artistic installations will be placed near the Clock Square (December 6-31), inviting visitors to interact and wander between them, while respecting Health Ministry guidelines. Eight huge dreidels (spinning tops) will be illuminated in different colors, alongside four transparent, illuminated "snow globes" featuring holiday symbols. Pressing an adjacent foot pedal will send "snowflakes" flying inside the installation.
The main shopping route in Jaffa will be decorated throughout December to mark the festivals, and activities will take place in collaboration with local businesses from December 8-31.
Rabin Square and Habima Square (December 10-18): Every evening during Hanukkah, candle lighting ceremonies will be held at Rabin Square and Habima Square in partnership with Chabad. Candle lighting is open to the public and free of charge.
At Rabin Square, weekday candle lighting will be held at 6 p.m. On Friday, it will be held at 3:45 p.m., and at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. At Habima Square, weekday candle lighting will be held at 5 p.m. On Friday, it will be held at 3:45 p.m., and at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Festival of Tel-Aviv-Yafo Winter Tours (December 9-31): Sixty guided walking tours will take place during December, with an emphasis on Hanukkah and Christmas. Alongside the festive tours, our well-established tours will continue, including family tours, art tours, tasting tours and more.
The majority of the tours will take place in Jaffa, alongside the wide range of ongoing activities for the festive season. In addition to guided tours, a series of self-guided walking tours is also available, including a new family quest along Rothschild Boulevard.
Find out more about the tours via the municipality website.
Sarona (December 10-17, 5-8 p.m.): Attendees will enjoy a huge hanukkiah, a Christmas tree, street performers and a light trail leading to a huge wishing wall.
The Illuminated Building Joint Candle Lighting: As part of the "illuminated building" initiative, the municipality will distribute 1,200 Hanukkah kits, including song booklets, candles and dreidels. Residents are invited to celebrate the festival by gathering every evening in open spaces in their building (e.g. gardens, lobby or roof) to light candles together with their neighbors.
The activity was proposed and supported by residents, and aims to strengthen bonds between them, encourage good neighborly relations, prevent loneliness among building inhabitants, and connect participants to their neighborhoods and the Hanukkah festival. The initiative will be rolled out in over 1,200 buildings across the city, and include Christmas tree decorations for residents of Jaffa.
For updates on the city's merry holiday season, check out Tel Aviv-Yafo's official tourism website.