2025 Hanukkah Videos

Happy Hanukkah everyone! It's that time of year when I share Hanukkah videos from around the world. With the tradition of pickles at Hanukkah growing each year (at least in my mind), I was curious to see if 2025 Hanukkah videos mentioned pickles or at least showed pickles in the background. Enter the dream collaboration of Monty Pickle and Kosha Dillz!

Monty Pickle has lots of wonderful Hanukkah content. Here's the dreidel song as an opera.

On to videos without talking/singing pickles. The rivalry between Six13 and Maccabeats might be at a level never seen before. They both have K-Pop Demon Hunters themed Hanukkah songs this year. 

Maccabeats include dancing pigs in their video but not a pickle?!? C'mon!

Y Studs enters the chat with a Jonas Brothers medley.

Huge credit to the Miami Boys Choir is keeping donuts on their desks without eating them.

So many a cappella groups! We need other songs and activities.

And for real little kids, there are some cartoons including one by Cocomelon.

Again, no pickles other than Monty Pickle. I challenge artists and educators to include pickles in their 2026 Hanukkah songs and videos.

Hanukkah 2024 Videos

It's time for my annual trip around YouTube to find some of the best videos about and celebrating Hanukkah. White the videos below are fun and/or entertaining, none of them mention the new-ish tradition of pickles during the holiday. I don't have any musical talent, so maybe next year someone will mention pickles in one of their songs.

A long-running subplot of this blog is that there must be some type of rivalry between the a cappella groups Six13 and The Maccabeats. They're like the sharks and the jets. Or Coca-Cola and Pepsi. This year, both groups took this rivalry to a whole new level by both having songs related to Wicked. 

 

There's a new (at least to me) a cappella group on the scene, Y-Studs. It's almost like they're the channel 2 news team in Anchorman. 

Since I visited Winnipeg earlier this fall, let's hear about the Hanukkah celebration in Manitoba.

How about some historical context about the holiday courtesy of Epcot.

A big deal is being made about Christmas and Hanukkah falling on the same day. This is from CBS:

Back to music. Kosha Dillz has a new Hanukkah song.

A land called Sufganiyot? Yes please!

Finally, this is just a clip of Spidey and The Thing saving Hanukkah by getting latkes back. I really want to see how this started (and if there are pickles involved). 

Happy Hanukkah to those who are celebrating. And Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating too.

Happy Hanukkah 2022

Happy Hanukkah to those of you who are celebrating! Hanukkah started on Sunday evening and whether or not you are partaking in the annual celebration of eating latkes, donuts, and pickles, playing dreidel, and lighting the menorah, here are some videos to enjoy this year:

Giving It Up For Hanukkah is truly a viral success story. As of Saturday evening, Brothers of Song had 108 followers on Instagram, which is even less than the number of people following me on Instagram. Their YouTube channel has 8 videos with all of them under 1,000 views except for one with 69K views. Then, out of nowhere, Giving It Up For Hanukkah has over 2.7 million views in less than 2 weeks. Good for the brothers!

Six13 is back (are back?) with a Hanukkah tribute to Elton John. 

There's a fantastic Cameo video out there of the legendary Smokey Robinson wishing someone a Happy Chanooka. Kosha Dillz along with Gangstagrass created their own Hanukkah song based on the mispronouncement. 

Sure, this looks like a Best Buy commercial to get you to visit their stores but notice the menorah on the windowsill while the family opens gifts. I like how this shows diversity within the Jewish community. 

This David Ross, who does not appear to be the Chicago Cubs manager, was able to create numerous versions of himself for A Funky Chanukkah. I could be wrong, but this may be an ode to Michael Keaton and the movie Multiplicity. 

Thanks to members of the US Armed Forces for their service and also for singing this Hanukkah medley.

The Kurstin x Grohl Hanukkah sessions are back with special guest Judd Apatow.

Let's finish up with the small screen. My kids have outgrown Disney Kids, so I'm not familiar with the show Firebuds. This is their Hanukkah episode.

And there is now a Hallmark Hanukkah movie called Hanukkah on Rye featuring Ithaca College graduate Jeremy Jordan, Yael Grobglas, and Lisa Loeb. I might "Stay" and watch it.

Brand New Pickle Taste Test For Hanukkah

Like Fetch, I'm still trying to make eating pickles part of the Hanukkah tradition happen. 

2022 marks the 25th anniversary of this tradition. If you're not familiar, the quick story is that there was a Kosher Pickle Taste Test at San Diego State University, and since this occurred in December, the student newspaper thought it was part of the Hanukkah celebration. (The longer story is here.) Now, more and more people really do eat pickles at Hanukkah, and one of my life goals is to spread this tradition. It's right up there with trying to be a good father, visiting all 50 states, attending a professional hockey game in every NHL city, and winning fantasy football and baseball leagues.

On Sunday, I had the opportunity to spread this tradition as my synagogue hosted an early Hanukkah celebration. There was a menorah build with legos, dreidels, food, and they let me have a pickle tasting table. I bought 14 jars of Wegmans, Grillo's, and Mount Olive pickles (total, not each), and spent much of Sunday morning cutting them up into sample-size pieces. Then, I put on my Portland Pickles T-shirt and brought them to the synagogue. 

While people were a little reluctant to approach the pickle table at first, primarily because they were more interested in eating pizza and getting donuts, more and more people stopped by, tried the pickles, and voted for their favorite. I'm particularly proud of The Moose, Pedro Tulo, and one of The Moose's friends for helping with "plating" the pickles for sampling, encouraging others to try them and vote, and then counting the ballots. I didn't ask them to help; they just jumped right in! 

I consider this year's event a trial run, and I think it was a success. I'd like to do a similar event next year with 10 or more different types of pickles, including by local pickle people. My dream is to have Kosha Dillz perform too. I also hope more Hanukkah celebrations around the world include pickles. It doesn't have to be a taste test (though those are fun), but just pickles next to latkes and sufganiyot would be great.

In case you're wondering, the Wegmans pickles won in a tight race. Oh, my car still smells like pickles too.

Happy Hanukkah 2021

Hanukkah started on Sunday night, and I'm excited to share some videos to celebrate the holiday. First up, Dave Grohl and producer Greg Kurstin return for another year of their Hanukkah Sessions. 

It's nice to see A Cappella groups The Maccabeats and Six13 back with new Hanukkah songs.

I know this isn't real, but Lady Latka is a potato pancake making more potato pancakes. She's shredding her own kind! Plus, while I haven't spent much time around dogs lately, why wouldn't Blue eat her? It's food on the ground!

Nissim Black and Kosha Dillz teamed up for a new song. 

I have no idea what this is.

While I've mentioned this several times over the years, if you celebrate Hanukkah, please include pickles as part of your celebration. This is the story of how the pickles at Hanukkah tradition started, and this is the Facebook page dedicated to pickles at Hanukkah!

Finally, this is a now deleted tweet by Leeds United apparently hoping that Hanukkah lasts for 10 days instead of 8.

Happy Hanukkah 2020

I've written an annual Happy Hanukkah post for many years now with various videos of Hanukkah songs and messages. This year may be the strongest group of videos since I started this nearly a decade ago.

You know how there is regularly a "Song of the Summer?" Well, the first video, "Puppy for Hanukkah" by Daveed Diggs, is the song of Hanukkah 2020. 

The Foo Fighters, or more specifically Dave Grohl and producer Greg Kurstin, are doing the extremely cool Hanukkah Sessions featuring a song by a Jewish artist every night of Hanukkah. This is their version of "Hotline Bling" by Drake.

If I'm doing a post with Hanukkah songs, you know that The Maccabeats will be in it. This year, they take on BTS' "Dynamite."

Meanwhile' The Maccabeats' fierce rival, Six13, did a medley of Ariana Grande songs. 

But Shir Soul looks like they are here to compete with the a cappella groups. 

I've written a lot about the new tradition of eating and tasting pickles during Hanukkah. With the stage name Kosha Dillz, Rami Matan should be the spokesperson for spreading the word about this.

Speaking of pickles, My Jewish Mommy Life made a latkes bar complete with pickles!

And just for fun, let's here from the Israel Philharmonic.

Finally, South Paw, the Chicago White Sox mascot, is here to wish Griffin a Happy Hanukkah!