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Lyrics
Hanukkah oh Hanukkah a week full of cheer
Snowy winds are singing the winter is here
In our home warm light and the dreidel will spin
And in the kitchen mama makes latkes again
The candles are shining
Like stars in the sky up above
And maybe from heaven will come down a wonder
The greatest of wonders is love
Hanukkah oh Hanukkah at home all together
Only joyful voices and good news forever
Every single night from now till the end
New and glowing lights in the lamp will ascend
The candles are shining
Like stars in the sky up above
And maybe from heaven will come down a wonder
The greatest of wonders is love
Hanukkah oh Hanukkah the menorah's glowing
On the frosty windows bright patterns are showing
Silver moonlight runs and it touches my hand
On the palm of heaven a coin seems to land
The candles are shining
Like stars in the sky up above
And maybe from heaven will come down a wonder
The greatest of wonders is love
Behind the song
The song’s story
A Yiddish festival song behind it
Khanike Oy Khanike is part of the older Yiddish Hanukkah repertoire, with its lyric associated with Mordkhe Rivesman. Candles, festive food and dancing bring the holiday into a roomful of people. The song's energy belongs as much to gathering as to remembrance.
Penn sound archive
What this version inherits
Our version developed from Olga Anikina's Russian text, commissioned by Walter J. Kin. Walter later clarified that the verse retains a thread of Khanike Oy Khanike, while the chorus and arrangement are new. The recording combines inheritance with new writing.
Producer’s clarification · August 2026
From Russian words to English singing
Walter adapted Olga's lyric into English and produced the recording. The aim is a holiday song people can make part of their own celebration, while giving the earlier Yiddish thread and the contemporary authors their separate places in its history.
Our recording & notes
About this recording
Walter J. Kin adapted Olga Anikina’s commissioned Russian lyric into English. The song moves through a winter home: a spinning dreidel, latkes, glowing candles and moonlight resting on a hand.
In Walter’s later clarification, the verse retains a thread of the traditional Khanike Oy Khanike melody, while the chorus and arrangement are new. The refrain makes love the song’s greatest wonder.
Why we consider this song Jewish or Jewish-themed
For us, this is Jewish holiday repertoire through its explicit Hanukkah setting and its household details: dreidel, latkes, menorah and candles increasing through the celebration.
At the same time, the emotional center is love and the wish to be together. We want those feelings to reach listeners beyond the holiday’s own community without removing the Jewish setting.
Credits & source
- Russian lyrics
- Olga Anikina, commissioned by Walter J. Kin
- English adaptation
- Walter J. Kin (RIGLI), from Anikina’s Russian
- Music, arrangement and production
- Walter J. Kin; the verse retains a traditional Khanike Oy Khanike thread, with a new chorus and arrangement
- Performance
- Riglis Band
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