Hanukkah Songs: 9 Modern Tunes To Celebrate The Festival Of Lights

It’s that time of the year where latkes and sufganiyot take over the dinner table, the dreidel becomes the go-to game and gifts are expected for eight nights in a row. Yes, Hanukkah is approaching! The Festival of Lights commemorates when the Jews reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem from the Greeks and rededicated it to the service of God. However, when they went to light the Temple’s seven-branched candelabrum, or menorah, there was only a single cruse of oil that had escaped contamination from the Greeks.

That one-day supply miraculously burned for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under the right conditions. Hanukkah commemorates that miracle. The holiday is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which this year falls on Dec. 12 of the Gregorian calendar until Dec. 20. Let’s celebrate the triumph of light over darkness, purity over adulteration, spirituality over materiality with these songs, perfect for all ages, with classics like “Oh Chanukah, Oh Chanukah” and “The Dreidel Song,” to modern tunes to appeal to the younger generations. Check them out below!

"Hanukkah, O Hanukkah" (Barenaked Ladies version)