Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Hanukkah!

: Published on Tuesday, December 20 2011; Written by Katie Marzullo

When Adam Sandler took up his guitar during a Weekend Update segment on “SNL” 17 years ago and declared his frustration at the lack of Hanukkah standards for he and his fellow Jewish peeps, a seasonal miracle was born – “The Chanukah Song”!

Ever since then, musicians and other Jewish celebs alike have heeded the call, awakened to the gaping hole in this particular market!

Tonight being the first night of Hanukkah, 2011, let’s put the dreidels aside for just a moment and start flipping latkes to some modern-day Festival of Lights ditties! Check out four toe-tapping Hanukkah-inspired songs below, starting with the classic that started it all:

Adam Sandler unleashed “The Chanukah Song” to an unsuspecting but delighted public on December 3, 1994:

In 2008, Stephen Colbert hosted his own Christmas special, “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!”, on Comedy Central; his “Daily Show” counterpart/nemesis Jon Stewart stopped by the try and educate Colbert on another special holiday being celebrated at the very same time! Thus the moving duet, “Can I Interest You in Hannukah?”, came to be:

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that reggae-fusion’s hottest Hassid, Matisyahu, would have something to say on this subject too! Indeed, the eclectic musician was keen to express his thoughts about the holiday through a song he hopes generations can treasure and help them understand the deeper, more spiritual aspects of Hanukkah. Take a listen to his 2010 song “Miracle”:

Finally, last year, parody group The Maccabeats released a viral video entitled “Candlelights”, a song set to the tune of Taio Cruz’s mega-hit “Dynamite”, and a new Hanukkah tradition was born!