I think Christmas is to blame for all of the completely bizarre Hanukkah music out there. And this year you can go for our own fresh takes on the Hanukkah classics, or you can go for some of this weird and funny stuff.
Of course there’s the new Hanukkah song penned by Orrin Hatch, the Mormon senior senator from Utah. It’s famous, and unbelievably catchy. Seriously, I was singing it for basically 25 hours straight over Shabbat. Big problem.
And as a result, the Jewish leader of the Tonight Show Band wrote a Christmas song for Mormons, set to the Tune of I Have a Little Dreidel. It has a very klezmer vibe, and features tap dancing and Conan O’Brien. Seriously.
Then there’s this Hanukkah present for Taylor Swift, a love song written by a Jew about how he wants Taylor for Christmas.
There’s this brilliant/grating version of Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You, except this year apparently All I Want for Christmas Is Jews, you know, because Jews are so hot right now.
There’s the truly amazing (and soulful) PS 22 Choir singing Maoz Tzur:
This song about doing Hanukkah even though no one really likes it as much as Christmas. Or something. I’m not really sure. Catchy, but weird.
And finally, my favorite holiday song is neither Jewish nor new, but as far as I’m concerned, WHAM is completely ecumenical and timeless.
Hanukkah
Pronounced: KHAH-nuh-kah, also ha-new-KAH, an eight-day festival commemorating the Maccabees' victory over the Greeks and subsequent rededication of the temple. Falls in the Hebrew month of Kislev, which usually corresponds with December.
