Jewish Dates versus civil dates

A few years ago, a young boy was in a Synagogue and he overheard one man ask another, "When is Chanukah(חנוכה), this year?" The other man smiled slyly and replied, "Same as always: the 25th of Kislev." This humorous comment makes an important point: the date of Jewish Holidays does not change from year to year. Holidays are celebrated on the same day of the Jewish calendar every year, but the Jewish year is not the same length as a solar year on the civil calendar used by most of the western world, so the date shifts on the civil calendar.