How do I find the yahrzeit date?

Convert the date of death to the Hebrew calendar; the yahrzeit is that Hebrew date every year. If death was after nightfall, it belongs to the next Hebrew date.

When is the yahrzeit candle lit?

On the evening before the day, at the start of the Hebrew date, so it burns for 24 hours.

Who says Kaddish on the yahrzeit?

Traditionally the sons; customs vary for other relatives. Many synagogues will arrange Kaddish if there is no relative to say it.

Is the first yahrzeit different?

Yes – it ends the year of mourning. Some details, such as counting from burial when it was delayed, depend on custom; ask your rabbi.

Yahrzeit – the anniversary of a death יָארְצַייט

Yahrzeit (Yiddish, “a year’s time”) is the anniversary of a relative’s death, marked every year on the Hebrew date. Children light a memorial candle, say Kaddish and do good deeds in the memory of the departed.

The date

The yahrzeit falls on the Hebrew date of death, not of burial, so its secular date changes from year to year. In a leap year, a death in Adar is commemorated in Adar II according to the Shulchan Aruch and in Adar I by many Ashkenazim; ask your rabbi about your case.

Customs

A candle burning for 24 hours, from the evening – “the soul of man is the lamp of the Lord” (Proverbs 20:27).
Kaddish at all prayers of the day, an aliyah to the Torah on the preceding Shabbat or the day itself, leading the prayers.
Visiting the grave, learning Mishnah in the person’s memory (the letters of mishnah also form neshamah, soul), giving tzedakah.
Some fast on the yahrzeit of a parent (Rema, Yoreh De'ah 402:12, based on Nedarim 12a).

Sephardi and Ashkenazi customs

The Yiddish word yahrzeit is Ashkenazi; Sephardim call the day azkara, nachala or hillula and often hold a gathering with study, a meal and blessings for the soul. Ashkenazim also say Yizkor on certain festivals.

Sources

נֵר יְהוָה נִשְׁמַת אָדָם חֹפֵשׂ כָּל־חַדְרֵי־בָטֶן
Proverbs 20:27

Talmud and halachic sources

Talmud, Nedarim 12a
Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 376:4 and 402:12 (Rema); Orach Chayim 568:8

Frequently asked questions

How do I find the yahrzeit date?: Convert the date of death to the Hebrew calendar; the yahrzeit is that Hebrew date every year. If death was after nightfall, it belongs to the next Hebrew date.
When is the yahrzeit candle lit?: On the evening before the day, at the start of the Hebrew date, so it burns for 24 hours.
Who says Kaddish on the yahrzeit?: Traditionally the sons; customs vary for other relatives. Many synagogues will arrange Kaddish if there is no relative to say it.
Is the first yahrzeit different?: Yes – it ends the year of mourning. Some details, such as counting from burial when it was delayed, depend on custom; ask your rabbi.