One of my favorite aspects of growing up in a multicultural household was the promise that we could celebrate double the holidays at the end of the year (which does not mean double the presents, btw). My father grew up celebrating Christmas, while my mother grew up celebrating Hanukkah.
Every December, we lit the menorah for the 8 days of Hanukkah (which changes every year) and sat around the Christmas tree on December 25th. I never knew what to call this tradition of ours until I was about 15 years old. I was watching one of my favorite shows at the time, The O.C., and heard Seth Cohen say his famous line….
“So what’s it going to be, huh? Do you want your menorah or candy cane? Hm? Hanukkah or Christmas? Uh uh. Don’t worry about it, buddy. Because in this house you don’t have to choose. Allow me to introduce you to a little something that I like to call Chrismukkah.”
Seth Cohen, The O.C.
So…what are some things that my family does for Chrismukkah?!
Atmosphere
My family decorates our household for both occasions. On our dining room table, we have our menorah front and center, surrounded by golden coins, dreidels, and a variety of candles. In our living room across the way, we have our Christmas tree filled with lights and ornaments from our travels over the years. In the background, our Alexa plays a lot of Christmas music, but there are a few Jewish classics, including “I Have a Little Dreidel.”
Activities
During the 8 nights of Hanukkah, my family loves to play dreidel. A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. The symbols represent Nothing, All, Half, and Put In. When you spin it, the symbol it lands on declares what you do with the chocolate coins in your possession. The winner is the individual left with all the coins after everyone else has lost theirs (although a few tend to go missing along the way because it’s hard to resist eating them). However, the closer it gets to Christmas, we love to gather around in the TV room and watch holiday movies, including Home Alone, Love Actually, Elf, and many more!
Food
Now for my favorite part, the food! While some years my family has cooked ham, potatoes, stuffing and made gingerbread houses, I will always favor Jewish classics such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts). Hanukkah always brings oily food, which represents the legend of Hanukkah and how the small amount of oil miraculously kept the flame burning for 8 days so they could rebuild their temple. Regardless, I will always conclude any winter day with a cup of hot chocolate and an occasional trip to Starbucks for a Peppermint Mocha.
Ultimately, every household celebrates the holidays differently with many traditions. I love being able to blend my two favorite holidays into one and spend time with my family and friends :)