Original Song by: Ellie Goulding
The Maccabeats Version: Burn - Hanukkah
Directed by: Uri Westrich
Video by: Uri Westrich
Here is another uplifting Hanukkah music video to enjoy! This one is an adaptation of Ellie Goulding's song "Burn" by the Maccabeats. In the video, you see a Jewish boy walking down the street with his kippah on. As he gets closer to school, he replaces it with a beanie, which he wears inside the school. While there, he comes in contact with bullies. After school, he takes off the beanie and replaces it with the kippah he was originally wearing.
When he gets home, you can see his family preparing for Hanukkah. There is a lot of tasty looking food on the table for the holiday, and beautiful Hanukkah candles are being lit. Afterwards, you can tell that the experience of Hanukkah really changes things for him. The next time he goes to school, you will notice how he is transformed and shows far more confidence around others.
The visual story of the boy who finds his confidence is echoed in the Maccabeats acapella version of "Burn." The burning Hanukkah candles helped to build the boy's confidence, and the singers have the same "fire" and confidence. Just like the eight nights of candles light up the boy's home, the musical light of the Maccabeats music will "light it up, doing right for the human race, and giving love to the world." The song encourages listeners to have confidence in "the fire" and to "let it burn." While candles can be put out, the Maccabeats version of "Burn" can help us rekindle our fires. I think there are many good lessons one can learn from watching this video, but one of the things that it brought to mind is the importance of community.
As this video shows, it can be very good to have people who share your faith and hope to encourage you when are you getting discouraged.
Like the boy in the video, we need other people. The Bible says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). The warmth of the Hanukkah candles and the Maccabeats performance can keep "the fire" burning.
The "Burn" lyrics and video can light us up. “Let’s consider how to provoke one another to love and good works, not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
