Happy Hanukkah!

We're now just about halfway through the annual Festival of Lights, and I wanted to share an interesting NPR story with you about holiday music. It features a new Hanukkah song by Matisyahu, who just might be the only Hasidic reggae rapper/singersongwriter around. You can listen to the story, which includes an acoustic version of "Miracle," and you can watch the rather confusing but amusing video.

This time of year, you can hear Christmas music everywhere, with some radio stations going to a 24/7 Christmas format (too much of a good thing!). So, to offer a little balance, here are my favorite Hanukkah songs:

5. Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages) - This is a very old song that was set to a German folk song.
4. The Dreydl Song - A classic kids song that sounds like a nursery rhyme. A Jewish equivalent of "Up on the Housetop."
3. Hanukkah, Hanukkah - Another kids tune with a fairly unimaginative name.
2. Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah - Not to be confused with the above song. This one is a DHS jazz band favorite--we do it in a revved up klezmer styles.
1. S'Vivon - A much more interesting song about dreydls. I arranged this for the Wind Ensemble to play a few years back, and Mr. V added string parts so the orchestra could play it last year. My all-time favorite!

I'd add in Adam Sandler's clever and humorous Hanukkah song, but I had to ban him from the list for the gratuitous drug reference near the end. Tsk, tsk.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be back with my favorite non-specific winter songs, secular Christmas songs, sacred Christmas songs, and a killer Kwanza playlist. Until then, enjoy the coming snow storm!

UPDATE: I did some research and came across this NPR segment where a rabbi tries to explain how to spell this holiday in English with the Roman alphabet. Since "Hanukkah" seems to be the most common spelling and is favored by the New York Times and Chicago Tribune, I've fixed it in the headline and text above. An extra bonus is some clips from another cool Hanukkah song by The LeeVees, who have a whole album called "Hannukah Rocks." (Note the alternate spelling, and also note that the rabbi in the story preferred "Chanukkah.")