Hanukkah Harry is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' played by

Jon Lovitz Jonathan Michael Lovitz (; born July 21, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1990. Lovitz starred as Jay Sherman in '' The Critic'' and played a baseball scout in '' A League of ...

. Hanukkah Harry is portrayed on the show as a variation upon the modern-day image of Santa Claus, with a beard characteristic of a male adherent of

Haredi Judaism Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

, and with his hat in blue with white edges (the colors of an Ashkenazi Jewish ''

tallit A tallit ''talit'' in Modern Hebrew; ''tālēt'' in Sephardic Hebrew and Ladino; ''tallis'' in Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish. Mish. pl. טליות ''telayot''; Heb. pl. טליתות ''tallitot'' , Yidd. pl. טליתים ''talleisim''. is a f ...

'', or prayer shawl, shared by the

flag of Israel The flag of Israel ( he, דגל ישראל '; ar, علم إسرائيل ') was adopted on 28 October 1948, five months after the establishment of the State of Israel. It depicts a blue hexagram on a white background, between two horizontal blu ...

''Saturday Night Live''

Hanukkah Harry's first appearance on ''SNL'' was on Season 15: Episode 9, a show first broadcast on December 16, 1989, with guest host

Andie MacDowell Rosalie Anderson MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell's known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. MacDowell has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman ...

, in a sketch titled "The Night Hanukkah Harry Saved Christmas", that viewers are told is sponsored by

Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a private, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was award ...

in association with the Jewish Anti-Defamation League. Unable to deliver toys to children due to a stomach virus, Santa calls Hanukkah Harry (Jon Lovitz) at his workshop on

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...

, asking if he could fill in. Hanukkah Harry agrees and flies through the air on a cart pulled by three donkeys, Moische, Herschel and Schlomo. Hanukkah Harry lands on a roof and climbs down the chimney of the home of Scott (

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywoo ...

) and Christine (

Victoria Jackson Victoria Jackson (born August 2, 1959) is an American actress, comedian, and singer who was a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) from 1986 to 1992. Early life Jackson was born in Miami, Florid ...

), offering gifts of slacks and socks respectively, as well as chocolate coins and a dreidel. While the children are initially disappointed at their gifts, their realization that Hanukkah Harry had helped Santa, makes them recognize that "Christians and Jews, deep down, are pretty much the same. Maybe that's the true meaning of Christmas!" With that statement Santa's flu is cured, and Santa comes down the chimney bearing gifts of Barbie make-me-pretty for Christine and a pellet gun for Scott. Hanukkah Harry's second appearance on ''SNL'' was on Season 15: Episode 17, with guest host Corbin Bernsen, first broadcast on April 14, 1990, in a sketch titled "The Night Hanukkah Harry Saved Easter." The definitive scholarly and popular treatment of Hanukkah Harry appears in the book ''A Kosher Christmas: 'Tis the Season to Be Jewish'' by Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut, Ph.D. in the fourth chapter entitled “ `Twas the Night Before Hanukkah: Remaking Christmas Through Parody and Popular Culture.” Plaut details and analyzes how Hannukah Harry becomes an American folk hero as a counterpart to Santa Claus.Plaut, Joshua, ''A Kosher Christmas: 'Tis the Season to Be Jewish,'' pages 104-108.

Other appearances

Building on these two ''SNL'' appearances, Hanukkah Harry has been referenced as a personification of

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

to correspond to Santa Claus in various other media, including on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, and on the pages of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' in which

Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer (; born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is known for his novels ''Everything Is Illuminated'' (2002), ''Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'' (2005), ''Here I Am (novel), Here I Am'' (2016), and for his non-fict ...

satirically described him as "a real person who drops in on Jewish homes each of the eights nights of Hanukkah to deliver gifts that are in no way dependent on children's good behavior". ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

'' has called Hanukkah Harry one of the best ''Saturday Night Live'' sketches of all time. ''

Dollface ''Dollface'' is an American comedy television series created by Jordan Weiss that premiered on November 15, 2019, on Hulu. It stars Kat Dennings, Brenda Song, Shay Mitchell, and Esther Povitsky. In January 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a s ...

'' Izzy dressed as Hanukkah Harry in the episode "History Buff". '' The Goldbergs (season 3)'' Episode 10, Hanukkah Harry appears as a character played by George Segal as Albert 'Pops' Solomon.

References

{{Hanukkah fictional Jews fictional toymakers and toy inventors holiday characters Saturday Night Live characters Saturday Night Live in the 1980s Saturday Night Live in the 1990s television characters introduced in 1989

''Saturday Night Live''

Other appearances

See also

References