Eight TV Episodes You Should Watch This Chanukah
Nathan Fielder in “The Rehersal” - HBO
We’ve finally made it to the most wonderful time of the year, the holiday season. A time of joy, giving, and most important of all, Holiday Specials. As we all know, there is no end to the amount of Christmas media out there, which makes it hard when trying to find the right thing to watch to get into the Chanukah spirit. That’s why I’ve devised this list highlighting Jewish representation in media, specifically on TV. From Rugrats to Seinfeld, I’ve narrowed down my essential viewing list of Chanukah episodes, sharing one for each night.
Night One: Rugrats, “A Rugrats Chanukah” - Season 4, Episode 1
To start us off is one the most quintessential and iconic Chanukah episodes ever made. In this heartwarming episode, Grandma Minka tells the tale of Chanukah to the babies as they all prepare to go to the Chanukah fair. Transported into their imaginations, they become “Maccababies” led by Tommy (Judah), resisting the cultural imposition of the fictional King "Antonica." Meanwhile, Grandpa Boris's rivalry with an old foe, Shlomo, unfolds on stage during the local Chanukah play. The babies think Shlomo is the “Meany of Chanukah,” all leading up to a touching ending that is sure to bring anyone joy. Growing up, this was a must watch in my family and a perfect way to kick off Chanukah.
Night Two: Friends, “The One With the Holiday Armadillo” - Season 7, Episode 10
This episode is undeniably a classic. It revolves around Ross, who, for the first time during the holidays, has his son Ben with him. Ross is concerned that Ben, who is half Jewish, only knows about Christmas, and therefore intends to teach him about Chanukah. Ross attempts to buy a Santa outfit after Ben expresses a desire to see Santa. However, the Christmas rush leaves him with an Armadillo costume instead. So of course he gets the next best thing, the Armadillo costume! He ends up visiting Ben as the Holiday Armadillo and uses the opportunity to teach his son about Chanukah. Things take a funny turn when Chandler shows up dressed as Santa. In memory of Matthew Perry, whose portrayal of Chandler Bing added immeasurable wit and charm to Friends.
Night Three: The Rehearsal, “Apocalypto” - Season 1, Episode 5
Definitely the weirdest Chanukah episode on this list comes from the mind of Nathan Fielder. In this episode, Nathan rehearses telling his fake wife that he wants to incorporate Judaism into their fake son's life. His fake wife is Christian and therefore doesn’t want to rehearse raising her fake son as anything but a Christian. This prompts Nathan to teach his fake son about Judaism and Chanukah in secrecy, bizarrely resembling how the Jews hid their learning of Torah from the Greeks in the Chanukah story. He hid all of this from his fake wife by telling her he was taking their fake son to swimming practice. This episode is capped off with the lighting of the menorah and then eating some sufganiyot, overall an atypical yet amazing Chanukah episode.
Night Four: Dash & Lily, “Hanukkah” - Season 1, Episode 3
In this episode, Lily and Dash open up to each other about their worst Christmas experiences. Lily writes Dash her story about a traumatizing experience being bullied as a kid. This leads to Dash daring her to get out into the world. He sends Lily to a sketchy underground Chanukah party on the 7th night of Chanukah. Despite facing her biggest fear, she gets into it and starts dancing like no one's watching. In the club, a band called the Challah Back Boys plays their song “Shacharis Mincha Maariv” as Lily tears up the dance floor. That is, until her childhood bully shows up, and Lily is forced to confront him. The storyline parallels the narrative of Chanukah, as Lily, much like the Maccabees who faced their oppressors, confronts her own fears and bullies.
Night Five: The O.C., “The Best Chrismukkah Ever” - Season 1, Episode 13
With a Jewish Dad and a Christian Mom, the Cohen family observes their own fusion holiday called Chrismukkah. This show is centered around a character named Ryan, who came from a broken home and was adopted by the Cohen family. Ryan tells them how the holidays were a bad time for him growing up, so his adoptive brother Seth wants to show him the magic of Chrismukkah. Meanwhile, Seth also tries to juggle taking two different girls to a party, claiming that one doesn’t need to choose on Chrismukkah. Ryan tells him he better pray for a Chrismukkah miracle, to which he replies, “I got Jesus and Moses on my side, man.” This episode shows a glimpse into an interfaith family and is one of the more dramatic episodes on this list.
Night Six: The Goldberg’s, “A Christmas Story” - Season 3, Episode 10
The Goldberg family celebrates Chanukah every year, but they don’t have the greatest holiday spirit. The presents they give and receive each day of Chanukah gradually get worse as the days go on, keeping interest in the holiday low. Then, Beverly visits the Kremps house and sees their incredible Christmas spirit, with full participation from the whole family. Beverly is inspired to make some changes to her family’s holiday celebrations for this year, namely, having what she calls a “Super Hanukkah,” which involves remaking Christmas traditions for Chanukah. Instead of a Christmas tree, they place their presents under a Chanukah bush. Instead of Santa, there’s Hannukah Harry. And instead of stockings, they have Chanukah socks. Beverly finally gets the Chanukah she’s always wanted: Christmas. Beverly's father, however, is displeased with her changing the holiday. She tells him she just wanted to take things up a notch, to which he replies, “Chanukah only has one notch.” The episode concludes with a nice message and a traditional Jewish Christmas, marked by a shared meal of Chinese food.
Night Seven: Saturday Night Live - Season 20, Episode 7
While this isn’t exactly a Chanukah episode of a T.V. show, it features one of the most iconic pop culture Chanukah moments ever shown on screen. I am, of course, referring to Adam Sandler’s Chanukah song. Premiering on the seventh night of Chanukah during the “Weekend Update” segment, Sandler introduces the song, saying that, growing up, there weren’t enough Chanukah songs, so he decided to make one. The song begins, “put on your yarmulke, it’s time for Hanukkah,” which leads into Sandler listing the names of many different Jewish celebrities. This song is perfect to listen to on all eight crazy nights.
Night Eight: Seinfeld, “The Strike” - Season 9, Episode 10
The episode begins with the gang at a Chanukah party at the house of their newly Jewish friend, Tim Whatley. Elaine says to Jerry, “So Whatley's still Jewish, huh,” to which Jerry replies, “Oh, sure. Without the parents it’s a breeze.” Kramer receives a call informing him that the H&H Bagels strike, ongoing for 12 years, is finally over, revealing that he had been on strike for the entirety of the show until this point, and prompts him to go back to work. We learn that George didn’t grow up celebrating Christmas but rather a holiday his father made up called Festivus. His dad was sick and tired of the commercial and religious significance of Christmas, so he decided to create his own holiday. Festivus doesn’t have a tree but a metal pole as well as other weird traditions. Take, for instance, the holiday's kickoff with the Airing of Grievances, where George's dad complains about those at the table—a quintessentially Jewish act of dissatisfaction about family. This episode cleverly reflects the American Jewish experience by using Festivus to provide George with a similar cultural backdrop without experiencing Chanukah directly.