8 Hanukkah Songs for 8 Days of Celebration (VIDEOS)
Hanukkah
is only a few days away, can you believe it? People all around the world will soon be lighting up their menorahs and spinning dreidels and making latkes and handing out gelt, celebrating and spending some QT with their loved ones.
Even though Christmas carols tend to take over this time of year, there are plenty of sweet, moving, and, let's face it, totally hilarious Hanukkah songs out there to help get you into the spirit. Have a listen to some of our favorites -- and then be inspired to fry up some sufganiyah.
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Adam Sandler, "Hanukkah Song": Let's start off with a requisite. Sandler's little diddy perhaps one of the best known Hanukkah songs out there -- I know you've heard it before, and you simply can't have a list of Hanukkah songs without including this one.
The Maccabeats, "Miracle": I think most of us heard The Maccabeats' song "Candlelight" last year. Here's one of their newest songs, "Miracle" (a cover of "Miracle" by Matisyahu); it also features Mayim Bialik from Big Bang Theory. And it's cute, hilarious, adorable, and even educational -- so typical of The Maccabeats.
The LeeVees, "How Do You Spell Hanukkah?": The LeeVees have made an entire album dedicated to Hanukkah, so we had to include a song from them. As a copy editor and word nerd, my favorite has to be "How Do You Spell Hanukkah?" It's a question that has no one right answer, but thank goodness someone put this hotly debated conundrum into song form.
Barenaked Ladies, "Hanukkah Blessings": Another oldie, but this one's a classic. Take a listen and have your mind and soul touched by this sweet, inspiring song. It doesn't matter if you're Jewish or Christian or Hindu or Atheist, you'll love this one for your holiday playlist.
Eric Schwartz, "Chocolate Coins": How would you react if the spirit of Elijah interrupted your family's Hanukkah party just to show you how a dreidel should really be spun? As described on his video: "[Eric] is the chocolate-coin kingpin, the don of gelt, and the lip-smackin' chip stacker." He'd be pretty mad if he weren't included on this list.
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They Might Be Giants, "Feast of Lights": This is a smooth, mellow song with a universal meaning. No more fighting during the Feast of Lights, especially if your dude gets you a harmonica. It's a bittersweet Hanukkah song, but a nice way to mix up your playlist from the typical funny, modern stuff.
PS22 Chorus, "Maoz Tzur": If you're looking for something a little more traditional, the always-adorbs PS22 Chorus will help remind you that, when it comes right down to it, holidays really are all about the kids. I just want to take all of them home with me and feed them some latkes. How cute are they?
Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert, "Hanukkah Songs": On the other hand, if you're in the mood for a good laugh, this song will do the trick. Watch as Jon Stewart tries to convince Stephen Colbert to celebrate Hanukkah. Although Colbert concludes that he'll "keep Jesus" while Stewart "keep[s] his po-tato pancakes," we can all get along in the end!
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Which Hanukkah song is your favorite? Any you'd like to add?
Written by Jill Baughman on CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
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