Jewish a cappella group The Maccabeats debuts its 2016 Hanukkah song on Time.com, a music video parodying the soundtrack of the Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton called “Hasmonean,” which was the ancient Judean dynasty established by the Maccabees in the first and second centuries B.C.
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem that had been defiled by some Hellenistic kings after the Maccabean Revolt (see 1 Maccabees 4:36-59), and according to this account, Judah Maccabee and his followers built a new altar and dedicated it on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev in 165 B.C.
Sample lyrics spoofing “My Shot”:
Originally formed in 2007 at Yeshiva University in New York City, the a cappella group that bills itself as not “your grandfather’s synagogue choir” first went viral in 2010 with “Candlelight,” a Hanukkah parody of the Taio Cruz hit “Dynamite,” which has racked up more than 12 million views.
Hanukkah begins the evening of December 24 and ends the evening of January 1.
Enjoy the musical history lesson below.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- How Donald Trump Won
- The Best Inventions of 2024
- Why Sleep Is the Key to Living Longer
- Robert Zemeckis Just Wants to Move You
- How to Break 8 Toxic Communication Habits
- Nicola Coughlan Bet on Herself—And Won
- Why Vinegar Is So Good for You
- Meet TIME's Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders
Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com