The short answer: Smokey Robinson’s famous “Chanooka” Cameo happened in December 2020, not recently. A fan bought the Motown legend a Cameo to wish his mother a happy Hanukkah, Robinson got tripped up by the “Chanukah” spelling, the video went viral, and Robinson good-naturedly asked for a do-over.
The “Chanooka” Video Happened in December 2020
This story keeps resurfacing around Hanukkah, which is how a four-year-old clip somehow became “recent” in the old version of this article.
The actual timeline is simple.
In December 2020, Jeff Jacobson and his brother paid for a Cameo from Smokey Robinson as a Hanukkah gift for their mother, Margo. Jacobson told Jewish Telegraphic Agency that their mother had grown up on the same street as Robinson in Detroit.
That is already a pretty great gift.
Then spelling entered the chat.
Why Did Smokey Robinson Say “Chanooka”?
The request apparently used the spelling “Chanukah.” That is a perfectly legitimate English spelling of the Jewish holiday, but if you have never seen it before, the opening “Ch” can look like it wants the same treatment as “chair.”
Robinson read it phonetically and cheerfully said he had no idea what “Cha-noo-ka” was, but wished Margo a happy one anyway.
It is hard to be offended by a mistake delivered with that much commitment to being nice.
The clip hit social media and immediately became one of those accidental internet moments nobody could have scripted better.
Smokey Robinson Asked for a Do-Over
The part the old article missed is what happened next.
After the video went viral, CBS News reported that Robinson publicly asked Jacobson for his mother’s phone number so he could try the greeting again.
Which is exactly the right response when the internet catches you pronouncing a holiday like it might be a newly discovered tropical fruit.
Jacobson was also gracious about the whole thing, calling Robinson a legend and focusing on the kindness behind the message rather than treating the pronunciation mistake like an international incident.
Both Hanukkah and Chanukah Are Correct Spellings
The spelling confusion is real because the holiday’s Hebrew name has to be transliterated into the Latin alphabet. That produces multiple accepted English spellings, including Hanukkah and Chanukah.
So the brothers did not spell the holiday “wrong.”
They simply discovered that transliteration plus Cameo plus Smokey Robinson can create one spectacular pronunciation trap.
Why Does the Clip Keep Coming Back?
Because it is short, harmless and genuinely funny.
Cameo itself resurfaced the clip years later around Hanukkah, helping a 2020 moment continue wandering back onto people’s feeds as though it happened yesterday.
So yes: Happy Chanooka.
Just remember the internet has been celebrating it since 2020.