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I Wouldn't Know from Jolly, But it is Not my Least Unfavorite Time of Year

By sastyk on December 1, 2010.

The great thing about most Jewish holidays is that they go on forever (well, 8 days, mostly), so lazy writers have a chance to get their act together late in the holiday and make it look like they planned it. Meanwhile, I have write about 73 things before tonight and then we're leaving tomorrow for four days with family, this will have to do.

The real problem isn't my failure to write anything appropriate to Chanukah, it is Orrin Hatch's failure. You see, last year you may remember, Hatch gave the worst Chanukah song ever as a gift to the Jewish people, and it gave quick and easy content to a grateful blogiste. I was hoping that the Senator would come through again, but no luck. The thing is, there are some pretty songs for Chanukah, but none of them are in English - that's actually a rule, as far as I can tell - if you can sing it in English, it pretty much sucks. I'm not sure why this is true about Chanukah.

There are a few exceptions, most of them funny. Like Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart considering Chanukah:

Or Adam Sandler:

You could call Matisyahu an exception to the no English rule, however:

Anyway, Happy Chanukah folks. Enjoy the light.

Sharon

Tags
judaism
Chanukah

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Happy Hanukkah to you and your family Sharon. May your latkes have adequate oil! Love, Sara

By Sara in Alabama (not verified) on 01 Dec 2010 #permalink

OMG! I'm almost ready to convert after seeing Adam Sandler and the Colbert/Stewart routine!

Happy Hanukkah, Sharon! (And anyone else who celebrates!)

Ocho kandelikas! There must be some other good tunes. Can anyone recommend some?

Oh, and I almost forgot, but this one is great! "Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah", by the Klezmatics, has lots of great songs in English! (Woody Guthrie was married to a Jewish woman and his mother-in-law was Aliza Greenblatt, a Yiddish poet.) Um also, for another take (including some rap in yiddish!) there's some good stuff on this album by Erran Baron Cohen (yes the brother of the offensive humorist)
http://www.emusic.com/album/Erran-Baron-Cohen-Erran-Baron-Cohen-Present…
I spend lots (read: probably too much) time searching for music for my kid's classes, etc... :)

I love the Klezmer Nutcracker!!! When I converted, Eric bought it for me as a gift to help with the transition, and it is a huge favorite here!

Sharon