Chrismukkah
Chrismukkah, if you haven't been able to tell
from the name, is a mix of Christmas and Hanukkah. It is
celebrated in interfaith households where one part is of
Jewish background and the other Christian.
The word Chrismukkah originated in the late 1800's in Germany.
German-Jews called the holiday "Weihnukkah" after
Hanukkah and the German word for Christmas, Weihnachten.
"A Christmas celebration with a tree, songs, and gifts
became a symbol of being a part of German culture for many
middle-class Jewish families in the 19th century. Jews celebrated
Christmas as a secular 'festival of the world around us'
without religious meaning, or they transferred Christmas
customs to the Hanukkah festival. This mixture was and is
referred to as 'Chrismukkah.' " -Wikipedia
The holiday of Chrismukkah gained widespread pop culture
distinction after being featured on an episode of FOX's
The OC. On the show, for those simple folk who do not know,
Sandy Cohen is of Jewish decent while Kirsten Cohen is Christian.
So, instead of choosing one celebration over the other,
the Cohen family celebrates both! (And we all know that
what ever holiday is being celebrated on The OC is THE holiday
to be celebrating!)
Here's a little fun fact about this faux holiday: before
it was ever aired on television, The NY Catholic League
in the fall of 2004 issued a National Press release opposing
the holiday of Chrismukkah. They were just jealous.
Just like its half part Hanukkah, Chrismukkah has multiple
spellings!:
Chrismukah, Christmukah, Christmukkah, Hannumas, Chanumas,
Christnukmah
Chrismukkah is a great way for two religions that have
had shaky times in the past to come together and celebrate
what the holiday season has come to represent for the masses
- a time a joy, family and friendship.
