Hanukkah Songs for the Candle Lighting and the Party

The short answer

Hanukkah 2026 starts at sundown on Friday, December 4, and the eighth candle is lit on Friday, December 11 (Hebcal). A Hanukkah gathering has two music moments, and they need different things:

1. At the menorah: no playlist. The blessings are said, the candles are lit, and then people sing, usually "Hanerot Halalu" and "Ma'oz Tzur" ("Rock of Ages"). Turn the speaker off.
2. The party afterwards: latkes, the dreidel game, presents. This is where a playlist helps: the songs kids know, a few funny ones for the adults, and klezmer under the conversation.

One 2026 catch: the first night is a Friday, so it overlaps Shabbat. Many observant families light the menorah before the Shabbat candles and then do not play music on a phone or speaker until Saturday night. If your guests include those families, hold the party on Saturday night after Shabbat ends, or on Sunday, December 6.

Who this is for

Maybe this is your first year hosting instead of your parents. Maybe you are in an interfaith family and want Hanukkah to feel like its own holiday rather than a side note to Christmas. Maybe you volunteered for the office or school holiday party, and someone pointed out that the playlist was 40 Christmas songs and one dreidel song.

Whichever it is, you want the candle lighting to feel right to the people who grew up with it, and the party music to work for grandparents, small kids and guests at their first Hanukkah. That starts with knowing which part is a ritual and which part is a party.

A running order you can copy

Most home parties go roughly like this:

The candles are usually lit at nightfall, and the family decides the exact time. Ask the host, and do not let a playlist run into it.

At the menorah: what is said and sung

Lighting the menorah takes a few minutes. According to Chabad's lighting guide:

• Blessings come first, said while holding the shamash (the helper candle). There are three on the first night (the third is the shehecheyanu, thanking God for reaching this season) and two on the other nights.
• Then the candles are lit, one more each night.
• Then people sing "Hanerot Halalu" ("These Lights") and/or "Ma'oz Tzur". Ma'oz Tzur is the song most families know. Its English adaptation is called "Rock of Ages", which is a different song from the Christian hymn with the same name.

None of this needs a speaker. Ask the family before you play anything. Many sing it themselves, and a recording over the top of them is unwelcome. Some families like one recording so guests can follow the tune. If they do:

• Put that one song in its own playlist, so nothing starts after it ends.
• Choose a recording that starts singing right away, without a long instrumental opening.
• Never put the blessings on shuffle or under dinner. They are a prayer.

On Friday, December 4, Chabad's Chanukah laws say the menorah is lit before the Shabbat candles, with candles big enough to burn into the night. On Saturday night it is lit after Havdalah, the short ceremony that ends Shabbat. The eighth night, Friday, December 11, falls on Shabbat too. Families differ, so if you are not sure, ask.

Songs the kids will know

These are the traditional songs taught in Hebrew schools and preschools. They are short, repetitive and easy to learn on the spot, which makes them good for the dreidel game.

• "I Have a Little Dreidel" (the Dreidel Song). The one everyone knows, in English.
• "Sevivon, Sov, Sov, Sov". The Hebrew dreidel song, sung in Israel.
• "Oy Chanukah" ("Oh Chanukah"). A Yiddish song with a well-known English version that names the latkes, the dreidel and the candles.
• "Mi Y'malel" ("Who Can Retell"). About the Maccabees, often sung as a round.
• "Banu Choshech Legaresh" ("We Came to Drive Away the Darkness"). A Hebrew children's song about the candles.
• "Ma'oz Tzur" again. Kids who sang it at the menorah will happily sing it twice.

Search for a recording by a children's choir or a Jewish preschool channel if you want versions sung at kid speed.

The party playlist: funny, modern and klezmer

The ones adults will laugh at

• "The Chanukah Song", Adam Sandler (first performed on Saturday Night Live in December 1994). A list of famous people who are Jewish. Read the note below before the kids hear it
• "Candlelight", The Maccabeats (2010). The a cappella Hanukkah parody of Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" that went viral
• "Hanukkah in Santa Monica", Tom Lehrer (written in 1990 for Garrison Keillor's radio show)
• "Latke Clan" and "How Do You Spell Channukkahh?", The LeeVees, from Hanukkah Rocks (2005)

Newer and sincere

• "Miracle", Matisyahu (2010)
• "Hanukkah Blessings", Barenaked Ladies, from Barenaked for the Holidays (2004), written by Steven Page
• "Light One Candle", Peter, Paul and Mary. Peter Yarrow wrote it in 1982, about the Maccabees

Folk and klezmer for under the conversation

• Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah, The Klezmatics (2006). Woody Guthrie wrote Hanukkah lyrics in 1949, and the band set them to music. "Hanuka Dance" and "Happy Joyous Hanuka" are the place to start
• Instrumental klezmer: clarinet and fiddle music from Eastern European Jewish weddings. It fills a room without anyone needing to know the words
• "Hava Nagila". Not a Hanukkah song, it is a celebration song. It is still what gets people up to dance, and nobody minds

For pacing once the party is going, see how to build a party playlist.

Songs to think twice about

• Christmas songs used as filler. "Winter holiday" playlists are mostly Christmas music, and a Hanukkah party is not the place for "Silent Night" or "Santa Baby". Wintry songs with no holiday in them, like "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", are usually fine, and that one was written by two Jewish songwriters, Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne. Ask the host if you are unsure.
• "The Chanukah Song" with kids in the room. According to Wikipedia, the uncut version, which is the one most radio stations play, has a line about gin and marijuana, and a separate radio edit skips that line. Sandler also recorded later versions with different lyrics. Play it through first.
• "Dreidel", Don McLean (1972). It has the word in the title and lands on Hanukkah lists, but the spinning dreidel is a metaphor for a life moving too fast. It is not a holiday song.
• Remixes and "Hanukkah party mix" uploads. They can include Christmas songs, shouting DJ drops and long build-ups. Pick the original recordings.

If a song is in Hebrew or Yiddish and you do not know what it says, check the words before it goes on the list. The next section shows how.

Building it in Trending Music

Trending Music is our app, so weigh this section accordingly. You can find the songs above in it and build the playlists for free.

1. Make two playlists, "Hanukkah Party" and "Kids". If the family wants a recording at the menorah, make a third with only that song. Search for the first song, tap the ••• on its row (or press and hold the row), choose Add to Playlist, then New Playlist, type the name and tap Create. For every song after that, choose Add to Playlist and pick the playlist under Your Playlists.
2. Check the words, and help guests sing along. While a song plays, open the player and switch to the Lyrics tab, then tap the globe button. Translate to English shows what a Hebrew or Yiddish song says. Pronunciation guide shows how to say each line, which helps guests who want to join "Ma'oz Tzur" or "Sevivon". Lyrics are not available for every recording, and an automatic translation is a guide, not a replacement for asking someone who knows the song.
3. Turn off Autoplay in the app's Settings, then Playback, before the party. It keeps similar music playing when a playlist ends, which is how a Christmas song sneaks in after your last Hanukkah one.

One honest catch. The free version of Trending Music is supported by ads, and it can show a full-screen ad when a new song starts. During the dreidel game nobody minds. At the menorah it is the wrong moment, which is one more reason to keep the candle lighting speaker-free. If you want a recording there, use Premium, which removes ads, or whatever app the family already uses. The playlist plan works in any app.

When is Hanukkah in 2026?

Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, with the first candle, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12. The eighth and last candle is lit on Friday, December 11. Like every Jewish holiday, each night starts at sundown.

What song do you sing after lighting the menorah?

Most families sing "Ma'oz Tzur" ("Rock of Ages") after the candles are lit, and many also say or sing "Hanerot Halalu" ("These Lights"). The blessings come before the lighting: three on the first night and two on the other nights.

Can you play music at a Hanukkah party?

Yes. Music, food, the dreidel game and presents are a normal part of a Hanukkah party. The exceptions are the candle lighting itself, which is sung rather than played, and Shabbat. In 2026, Shabbat runs from Friday evening, December 4, to Saturday night, December 5, and many observant families do not use speakers or phones then.

Before December 4

Ask the host three things: which night the party is, whether anyone keeps Shabbat, and whether the family wants a recording at the menorah or would rather sing. Then build the party and kids' playlists, check the songs you do not know, and turn off Autoplay. On the night, pause the music, let them light the candles, and wait for the last verse of "Ma'oz Tzur" before you press play again.

Hosting Thanksgiving first? Our Thanksgiving dinner playlist uses the same idea, with one short list for each part of the evening.

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