A Rugrats Chanukah

"A Rugrats Chanukah"
Rugrats episode
Promotional image featuring Grandpa Boris and the Rugrats lighting the Menorah.
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 1
Directed by	Raymie Muzquiz Dave Filoni
Written by	Henry Gilroy Steven Melching Scott Murphy
Production code	999[1][2]
Original air date	December 4, 1996 (1996-12-04)
Guest appearances
Brendan Gleeson as Shlomo Ashley Eckstein as Ester Cillian Murphy as Rabbi / Old Man Mark Heap as Lowell / Greek Bully / Donut Man Noah Huntley as Mr. Dreidel / TV Announcer Christopher Eccleston as Parade Crooner Mt. Zion's Women Choir Naomie Harris- Choir Leader Megan Burns Kim Mcgarrity Rebecca Front Morwenna Banks Joelle Simpson Jenni Lush Alison Steadman Doon Mackichan
Episode chronology
← Previous "A Rugrats Passover" Next → "Mother's Day"
List of episodes

"A Rugrats Chanukah" (titled onscreen as simply "Chanukah" and sometimes called the "Rugrats Chanukah Special") is the first episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series Rugrats (and the sixty-sixth episode overall). It first aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on December 4, 1996. The special tells the story of the Jewish holiday Chanukah through the eyes of the Rugrats, who imagine themselves as the main characters. Meanwhile, Grandpa Boris and his long-time rival, Shlomo, feud over who will play the lead in the local synagogue's Chanukah play. While many American children's television programs have Christmas specials, "A Rugrats Chanukah" is one of the first Chanukah specials of an American children's television series.

Raymie Muzquiz directed "A Rugrats Chanukah" from a script by J. David Stem and David N. Weiss. In 1992, Nickelodeon executives had pitched the idea of a Chanukah special to the production team, but the concept was revised and became the 1995 special "A Rugrats Passover". After production of the Passover episode wrapped, the crew returned to the Chanukah idea.

In its initial airing, "A Rugrats Chanukah" received a Nielsen rating of 7.9, and garnered positive reviews from critics. Along with other episodes featuring Boris and his wife, the special attracted controversy when the Anti-Defamation League compared the character designs to anti-Semitic drawings from a 1930s Nazi newspaper.