The Chanukah Song - Covers and Spoofs

Covers and Spoofs

Jimmy Fallon impersonated Adam Sandler during a Celebrity Jeopardy! sketch on Saturday Night Live on October 24, 1998. In the sketch, Fallon, as Sandler, interrupts Will Ferrell's Alex Trebek by playing guitar and singing a line that's supposed to be from The Chanukah Song, but is not an actual line from any of the three songs. In the tune of the song's chorus and first few verses, Fallon sings, "Robert De Niro, Bela Lugosi, Snuffleupagus, and Parker Posey!" Interestingly enough, De Niro, Lugosi, and Posey are (or in Lugosi's case, were) not actually Jewish, and were in fact all raised Roman Catholic.

In the season 3 The Office episode "Diwali", Michael Scott (Steve Carell) parodies Sandler by performing "The Diwali Song" during a Hindu Diwali festival.

In 2008, Unitarian-Universalist Evan Austin performed a parody of this song called "The Chalica Song" about the Unitarian-Universalist holiday of Chalica. Austin lists celebrities and historical persons who are "Unitarian-Universalists. Or Unitarians. Or Universalists. Or people with similar ideas." In 2009, Austin recorded "The (Second) Chalica Song" with the same tune, but a new list of names.

In 2009, a cover of the song by Neil Diamond was released on A Cherry Cherry Christmas. This version featured several changes in lyrics, including the change from "Tom Cruise isn't but I heard his agent is" to "Tom Cruise isn't, but Jesus Christ is".