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Forum -> Yom Tov / Holidays -> Chanukah
Chanuka oh chanuka song in Yiddish! Or English
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Elfrida




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Nov 29 2021, 2:10 pm
I'm not commenting on the Yiddish debate, because I don't speak more than a few words, but I was thinking about the difference between the Hebrew and and English versions. According to wikipedia, the Yiddish version was first published in 1912, but was well known before that. It was translated into Hebrew in the 1930s, and the English version was a lot later.

Firstly in English we eat latkes, while in Hebrew we eat sufganiot. That might have been more to do with scanning than any deep ideology of ideal Chanukah foods.

More significantly, the english version focuses on how we celebrate today, while the hebrew includes that but is far more focused on the deeds of the Maccabim and the restoration of Yerushalayim and the Beit HaMikdash. I think that the Hebrew version is a fairly free translation, while the English seems to be much closer to the original Yiddish. It's interesting how it develops.
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amother
Starflower


 

Post Mon, Nov 29 2021, 6:43 pm
iyar wrote:
I think kon is a ring or a circle. (Koch is kitchen.)
I don't know what dininke means. Maybe it's like din = thin?
We sang it as Chanukah lichtelech, but I'm not going to tell you my version was best Wink


It's interesting that you have the word "kon - circle" in your version of this Chanukah song.
I'm British and sang the song in kindergarten in England.
We live in E'Y, and my children sang/sing the very same song but with some words changed to Yerushalmi Yiddish.
One of the words is ראד of the line - "און לאמיר אלע טאנצן אין ראד"
When I heard my kiddies singing "in rod" it irritated me. What sort of word was "rod' in Yiddish?
Then I was told that "rod" is a Yiddish word for circle.
And now I read that "kon" is Yiddish for circle.

It's intriguing. I wonder how many more versions of this song exists? Smile

Another point: I'm puzzled that no poster mentions the last 2 verses of the song, starting:
Yehudah hot fartribben
der rosha der rotzeiach
........

is it not known?
We sang those last 2 verses in England.
And my children sing it here in E"Y.
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amother
Clover


 

Post Mon, Nov 29 2021, 8:01 pm
My son learned (more or less) zaqs version when we lived in yerushalayim and my son went to a litvish yiddish speaking cheder. Now we moved to lakewood and he sings the more common one.
I don't think its a wrong/right type of thing it more where you're coming from.
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amother
Wandflower


 

Post Mon, Nov 29 2021, 8:40 pm
If anyone is interested I know this song in Spanish

O Jánuca, O Jánuca
Una fiesta hermosa
Tan brillante y alegre
Como ella no hay otra
A la noche con el dreidel
Nos gusta jugar
Dulce tibio Latkas
Comemos sin parar

The only part I don’t get is why they call Latkas sweet.
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Nov 29 2021, 8:56 pm
amother [ Wandflower ] wrote:
If anyone is interested I know this song in Spanish

O Jánuca, O Jánuca
Una fiesta hermosa
Tan brillante y alegre
Como ella no hay otra
A la noche con el dreidel
Nos gusta jugar
Dulce tibio Latkas
Comemos sin parar


fantastic! an almost word-for-word translation of what is apparently the Litvish version of the Yiddish and it rhymes, too! Thank you for sharing.
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salt




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 30 2021, 1:51 am
amother [ Wandflower ] wrote:
If anyone is interested I know this song in Spanish

O Jánuca, O Jánuca
Una fiesta hermosa
Tan brillante y alegre
Como ella no hay otra
A la noche con el dreidel
Nos gusta jugar
Dulce tibio Latkas
Comemos sin parar

The only part I don’t get is why they call Latkas sweet.


How nice that there's also a Spanish translation.
What does the word dreidel come from?
I always assumed it was Yiddish, so it's strange that in Spanish you would use that word.
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Tof Umachol




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 30 2021, 3:22 am
zaq wrote:
. But if the accent is going to be wiped off the face of the earth, which it is just about, it’s not going to be my doing. Fighting to keep the accent alive may help vee a teit in bankes but stick to it I will.



You might be pleased to know that at least it is alive and well in Yiddish departments in Israeli academia.
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 30 2021, 6:43 am
Tof Umachol wrote:
You might be pleased to know that at least it is alive and well in Yiddish departments in Israeli academia.


Delighted to learn this—thank you for letting me know!
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amother
Pewter


 

Post Mon, Dec 06 2021, 5:17 pm
Actually the version of the beginning I know is slightly different from what zaq wrote:

Oy chanukka, oy chanukka, a yon-tev a sheyner
a lustiger, a freylichter nishto noch a seyner
ale necht in dreydlach shpielen mir
zidig heisse latkes esst on a shiur

I have it from an anthology of yiddish folksongs (4 big volumes in bright red hardcover), but unfortunatly, I lost the books...

There is also a second stanza in Yiddish, which seems to be almost forgotten:

Yehuda hot fartriben dem soyne, dem rotseach
unt hot im Beys ha mikdash gezungen Lam'natseach
Di Shtodt Yerushalayim hot wider oyfgelebt
Un zu a neyem leyben hot yederer geshtrebt

Dariber
dem Gibor
Yehuda ha Makabi loybt hoych
Zoll yeder bazunder
bazingen dem wunder
un lib hoben dem folk solst du oych

And yes, "dininke" means thin, in the diminutive
And the older version is exactly the one reported by zaq, and the "mistakes" Lemonline pointed out are no mistakes, but the original lyrics, as I know them, independetly of what zaq reported.

You find the second stanza on this recording (kol isha)
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Dec 06 2021, 7:18 pm
salt wrote:
How nice that there's also a Spanish translation.
What does the word dreidel come from?
I always assumed it was Yiddish, so it's strange that in Spanish you would use that word.


South America was a haven not just for fleeing Nazis after WWII but also for Jews fleeing the Nazis before and during WWII.
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amother
Babypink


 

Post Mon, Dec 06 2021, 7:39 pm
amother [ Wandflower ] wrote:
If anyone is interested I know this song in Spanish

O Jánuca, O Jánuca
Una fiesta hermosa
Tan brillante y alegre
Como ella no hay otra
A la noche con el dreidel
Nos gusta jugar
Dulce tibio Latkas
Comemos sin parar

The only part I don’t get is why they call Latkas sweet.


I just learned that in some communities donuts are called latkes - that could explain it.
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amother
Starflower


 

Post Mon, Dec 06 2021, 7:53 pm
amother [ Pewter ] wrote:
Actually the version of the beginning I know is slightly different from what zaq wrote:

Oy chanukka, oy chanukka, a yon-tev a sheyner
a lustiger, a freylichter nishto noch a seyner
ale necht in dreydlach shpielen mir
zidig heisse latkes esst on a shiur

I have it from an anthology of yiddish folksongs (4 big volumes in bright red hardcover), but unfortunatly, I lost the books...

There is also a second stanza in Yiddish, which seems to be almost forgotten:

Yehuda hot fartriben dem soyne, dem rotseach
unt hot im Beys ha mikdash gezungen Lam'natseach
Di Shtodt Yerushalayim hot wider oyfgelebt
Un zu a neyem leyben hot yederer geshtrebt

Dariber
dem Gibor
Yehuda ha Makabi loybt hoych
Zoll yeder bazunder
bazingen dem wunder
un lib hoben dem folk solst du oych

And yes, "dininke" means thin, in the diminutive
And the older version is exactly the one reported by zaq, and the "mistakes" Lemonline pointed out are no mistakes, but the original lyrics, as I know them, independetly of what zaq reported.

You find the second stanza on this recording (kol isha)


I can see from this post that probably nobody read my posts (probably wasn't interesting) and also no-one bothered to answer my question!

No! you don't have to bother reading them now!

"thanks a lot" I won't bother anyone anymore with my dull posts
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