A Rugrats Chanukah

"A Rugrats Chanukah"
Rugrats episode
A cartoon of an elderly man lighting a Menorah. He is bald and wearing a Kippah. At his feet are three toddlers; two are on their hands and knees, the other is standing. To their right are two infants sitting on a large brown dog. One infant is bald and wearing a nappy; the other is wearing a t-shirt and shorts.
Promotional image featuring Grandpa Boris and the Rugrats lighting the Menorah.
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 1
Directed byRaymie Muzquiz
Dave Filoni
Written by
Production code999[1][2]
Original air dateDecember 4, 1996 (1996-12-04)
Guest appearances
  • Fyvush Finkel as Shlomo
  • Ron Leibman as Rabbi / Old Man
  • Alan Rachins as Lowell / Greek Bully / Donut Man
  • Alan Rosenberg as Mr. Dreidel / TV Announcer
  • Bruce Young Berman as Parade Crooner
  • Mt. Zion's Women Choir
    • Edie Lehmann - Choir Leader
    • Joan Beal
    • Susan Boyd
    • Linda Harmon
    • Luana Jackman
    • Susan McBride
    • Bobbi Page
    • Sally Stevens
    • Carmen Twillie
Episode chronology
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"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.

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