Hanukkah Nail Designs for the Festival of Lights

10 min read

Get ready for an array of blue and white Hanukkah-inspired nails!

This year's Festival of Lights celebrations starts on November 28, and that leaves you plenty of time to prepare for your Hanukkah nail art.

In this Hanukkah manicure guide, we'll show you various Hanukkah nail designs and recommend the blue and white acrylic powders you need to recreate them. For Dippers not familiar with Hanukkah, we're sharing some history snippets, too. Now's your chance to learn about this Jewish holiday if you're not already familiar with it.

What is Hanukkah? (...also spelled as Chanukah)

Hanukkah is an annual Jewish celebration that stretches for eight days.

How did the tradition of Hanukkah start? Let's take a short trip back to the 2nd Century BCE.

Back then, a group of rebel warriors known as the Maccabees fought against the persecution of the Jewish religion. After the successful uprising, the desecrated Jewish temple in Jerusalem was restored and rededicated on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. They've celebrated Hanukkah every year since that day.

Legend has it that the Jewish people lit a menorah (candelabrum) in the said temple, and it burned for eight days even though it only had enough oil to last one day.

It's a menorah miracle — and the basis for the current tradition of lighting candles during Hanukkah, one candle at a time, for eight nights. (Fun fact: The ninth candle in a menorah — the helper candle called the shamash — is the one you use to light the other eight candles.)

This is also why Hanukkah is known as the Feast of Dedication, Festival of Lights, or Feast of the Maccabees.

What are the colors of Hanukkah?

Traditionally, it's blue and white. Why these colors? For one, they are the colors of the Israeli flag. Another reason often cited is they are the same colors found in traditional Jewish prayer shawls. To make the Hanukkah look more festive, white is sometimes replaced with silver.

Need more Hanukkah colors for your dip powder collection? H​​​​​​​ere's the complete list of blue, white, and silver dip powders from Dipwell.

CLASSIC DIP POWDER COLLECTION: CL 04 (Lapis Lazuli), CL 10 (Arctic Blue), CL 46 (Sky Blue), CL 49 (Midnight Blue), CL 70 (Royal Blue)

JELLY DIP POWDER COLLECTION: JL 01 (Clear jelly dip powder with fine-grain silver glitter)

NEON DIP POWDER COLLECTION: NE 20 (Cornflower Blue), NE 22 (Ultramarine Blue)

MILKY DIP POWDER COLLECTION: MK 01 (Milky White), MK 02 (Milky White with glitter), MK 03 (Milky Blue), MK 04 (Milky Blue with glitter)

NATURALE DIP POWDER COLLECTION: NA 01 (Soft white with the lightest bit of sparkle)

GLOW IN THE DARK DIP POWDER COLLECTION: GW 04 (Day: Light Blue | Night: Electric Blue)

PASTEL DIP POWDER COLLECTION: PA 05 (Light Blue), PA 12 (French Blue), PA 13 (Caribbean Blue), PA 17 (Blue Gray), PA 21 (Robin's Egg)

GLITTER DIP POWDER COLLECTION: GL 11 (White with white glitter), GL 25 (Cobalt Blue), GL 28 (White with white & turquoise glitter), GL 42 (Medium Blue with aqua, silver, and dark blue glitter), GL 44 (Ultra-sparkly white & silver glitter)

FRENCH ESSENTIAL DIP POWDER COLLECTION: French White, Light White

How do you style your dip powder nails for Hanukkah?

The eight-day Festival of Lights celebration offers a whole slew of activities you can take dip nail inspiration from. You've got your Hanukkah dip powders, now here are your options on what to do with them — DIY Hanukkah nail designs that are easy to recreate at home.

CLASSIC HANUKKAH NAILS

As timeless as Hanukkah traditions, such as lighting the menorah, eating traditional Hanukkah foods (latkes, anyone?), playing with dreidels, and even giving traditional Hanukkah gifts.

Nothing can get as classic as blue Hanukkah nails (featuring CL 04 Lapis Lazuli dip powder) with a sparkly white accent nail. Image by Jessica N.

Make your Hanukkah mani super bright and vibrant with the addition of silver bling and blue glitter (GL 42 Medium Blue dip powder). Image by Renate E.

Mix and match different shades of the Hanukkah colors, like CL 04 Lapis Lazuli, CL 70 Royal Blue, and GL 27 Iridescent Glitter dip powders. Image by Erin.

JELLY HANUKKAH NAILS

This is the dip manicure equivalent of the sufganiyot, a Hanukkah jelly delicacy. Yup, jelly not only goes well with deep-fried doughnuts, but it also makes for beautiful acrylic nails, too. Here you have an all-white jelly dip mani that’s perfect for Hanukkah. (Look at those silver glitter! They look like a sprinkling of powdered sugar on your sufganiyot.)

“This color is gorgeous alone or on top of another color!” Image by Brooke M.

Double the jelly fun by pairing JL 01 Clear Jelly with another dip powder that mimics the color of the Sufganiyot filling of your choice.

NEON HANUKKAH NAILS

When it comes to Hanukkah candles, you don’t have to limit yourself to the traditional blue and white colors. You can have all nine candles on a menorah in various rainbow colors. And you can also make your Hanukkah dip powder nails more delightful by matching them with the color of each candle.

Neon stripe nail art featuring NE 22 Ultramarine Blue, NE 12 Green Apple, and NE 16 Highlighter Yellow dip powders. Follow the dip nails tutorial on Dipwell’s YouTube page to recreate this Hanukkah style.

Multicolor dip mani that includes the traditional Hanukkah colors. For blue and white dip powders, try French White or GL 28 (White with white & turquoise glitter) and NE 22 Ultramarine Blue or CL 49 Midnight Blue.

Hanukkah colors are usually a combination of blue and white or blue or silver. Can’t decide on the perfect pairing for your dip powder manicure? Use all three colors. Image by Sundara N.

Give your Hanukkah dip manicure the lunar treatment. Check out the dip mani tutorial: How To Do A Half-Moon Mani, featuring NE 22 Ultramarine Blue dip powder.

MILKY HANUKKAH NAILS

You’d love these milky nail designs as much as you love dairy-laden latkes (potato pancake), blintzes (filled crepe), or kugels (noodle pudding).

Milky Hanukkah dip mani featuring MK 03 Milky Blue and MK 04 Milky Blue with glitter dip powders. Image by @chrissy.nailed.

For the perfect set of Hanukkah drip nails, pair your milky blue dip powder with CL 04 Lapis Lazuli dip powder. How do you create drip nails? Follow this dip manicure tutorial: Drip Nails with Dip Powder. Image by Monica C.

An accent nail with a darker blue shade is an excellent contrast to your light blue milky dip powder mani. Image by Theone S.

NATURALE HANUKKAH NAILS

What’s a Hanukkah party without a fun round of dreidel (or two). Up your game by sporting a pop of white Hanukkah dip powder nails that look great against the traditional wooden dreidel. (What’s a dreidel, you ask? It’s a spinning top whose sides are marked with Hebrew letters.)

Pretty, muted white dip powder nails that go great with everything. Apply two coats of the NA 01 Soft White dip powder to make it opaque. Add Hanukkah nail stickers or Hanukkah nail decals (for example, traditional Hanukkah symbols like the Star of David or Hebrew letterings) to make it more fun and relevant. Image by Brittany F.

Have a set of simple Hanukkah dip nails but with a little extra flare. NA 01 Soft White dip powder has the perfect amount of shimmer for this purpose. Image by Emma V.

NA 01 Soft White dip powder is the perfect in-between shade for French White and GL 44 dip powders. Its subtle sparkle adds a touch of glam to your average white. Image by Kelley M.

GLOW IN THE DARK HANUKKAH NAILS

It’s like lighting the menorah or candelabra, but for far more than eight consecutive nights. With Dipwell’s easy acrylic dip system, you can make your Hanukkah dip mani glow at night for at least 3 weeks!

Look at the wattage on this glow! Light up your nails with GW 04 dip powder that looks light blue in the daytime and electric blue in the nighttime. Image by Beth M.

“I have GW 05  (Day: White | Night: Light Green) on my middle finger and, oh boy, does this one glow. 15 seconds to charge under my desk lamp, and it starts to glow without being in the dark. The picture of it glowing is what it looks like after it was exposed to sunlight.” Image by rubyeyes89.

PASTEL HANUKKAH NAILS

The exact dates of Hanukkah change every year. Why? Because it’s determined by the Hebrew calendar that’s based on the cycles of the moon. One thing’s for sure, Hanukkah usually falls between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But just because Hanukkah doesn’t happen in the spring or summer, it doesn’t mean you can’t wear a pastel dip manicure. Go ahead and make your Hanukkah dip powder nails as pastel as they get.

Make it a multicolor Hanukkah dip powder manicure using different shades of blue, including PA 05 Light Blue dip powder. Image by Danielle W.

Create a pastel marble effect with PA 05 Light Blue and PA 13 Caribbean Blue dip powders. Image by Erin B.

Frenchify your Hanukkah manicure using PA 12 French Blue and GL 44 White & Silver dip powders with sparkly nail decals on top. Image by Shari C.

GLITTER HANUKKAH NAILS

Make your basic blue & white Hanukkah nails sing with glitter dip powder. Speaking of singing, did you know that one of the traditions of Hanukkah is the singing of special hymns after lighting the menorah, such as the traditional Hanukkah song called Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)? Now you know.

Give extra oomph to your solid color Hanukkah dip powder mani by adding an accent nail using GL 11 White dip powder. Dust the same white glitter powder onto the rest of your dip powder nails to make them sparkle. Image by Alyssa A.

This gorgeous GL 25 Cobalt Blue dip powder is super pigmented and full of glitter, and it also pairs well with a lot of colors. It’s suitable for Hanukkah, Christmas, and other holidays! Image by Erin M.

Put some hearts on your Hanukkah dip nails using this dip powder tutorial: How To Do Pink Gradient Nails With Heart Design. Just use GL 42 Medium Blue glittery dip powder for the heart-shaped French tips.

You can use the GL 44 ultra-sparkly White & Silver glitter dip powder on its own. Or you can use it to add a sparkly ombre effect, like on this PA 03 Bright Periwinkle solid colored mani. Image by Chloe.

GOLDEN HANUKKAH NAILS

For the final Hanukkah look, we took inspiration from another Festival of Lights tradition — the gifting of money (or gelt in Yiddish) to children. This can be in the form of real money or golden chocolate coins. And what better acrylic powder to match the gelt than the Limited Edition Gold Flakes Dip Powder.

Have the most glamorous pair of hands giving out gelt with this Hanukkah mani, featuring the elegant pairing of CL 49 Midnight Blue and limited edition Gold Flakes dip powders. Image by @coffee.and.manis.

Here’s another way to style your Hanukkah dip powder mani using the gold flakes. Want to pair it with another shade other than blue or white? Choose this dip color that’s reminiscent of the jelly filling of the Hanukkah sufganiyot. Image by Jennifer M.

If you need more than a sprinkling of golden flakes, the alternative is GL 12 True Gold dip powder with medium-grain glitter. Image by Marianne G.

L'Chaim! To life (and lovely dip nails)!

Bust out the nine-branched candelabrum, get ready to gorge on delicious Hanukkah fried treats, and make sure your dip manicure is holiday-ready. You now have this list of dip nail inspo to help you with your Hanukkah manicure.

Share the Festival of Lights look you chose with ​​​​​​​DipWell's Dipper Club on Facebook or @dipwellnails on Instagram. Don't forget to use our official hashtag: #DoYouDipWell.​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Hanukkah Sameach! (Happy Hanukkah!)