This week, interfaith families will celebrate two holidays on the same day. For the first time since 2005, the first day of Hanukkah falls on the same day as Christmas. The Hebrew calendar does not align with the Gregorian calendar, so the start date of Hanukkah moves annually per the calendar that is used in most places around the world.
Christmukkah is a combination celebration that occurs when Hanukkah is celebrated in conjunction with Christmas. In rare cases, it marks the first day of Hanukkah when it happens on the same day as Christmas.
This occurrence is the fourth Christmukkah since 1900. 2005, 1959, and 1921 were the previous three times that Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah were on the same day. The next two times Christmukkah will be celebrated are 2035 and 2054.
Hanukkah is always celebrated on the 25th day of Kislev, the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar. The Hebrew calendar is based on a combination of solar and lunar cycles. However, the Gregorian calendar established by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 defines one year as the time it takes for Earth to travel around the sun. In the Gregorian calendar, Hanukkah could take place anytime between November 28th and December 27th.
Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God. The Bible tells the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, where he was born in a stable after Mary and Joseph could not find room in an inn. Three wise men from the East followed a star to Bethlehem and presented Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh gifts. Some Christmas traditions involve gift-giving, family and social gatherings, and candlelight or midnight services. Christmas starts on the same day each year.
Hanukkah commemorates the Maccabees, a group of Jewish fighters who reclaimed the Temple from the Greeks more than 2,000 years ago. When the Maccabees returned to the Temple, they only had enough oil to light the menorah for one day, but the oil miraculously burned for eight days, giving the Maccabees time to gather more oil and rededicate the Temple. Hanukkah is celebrated by lighting a candle in a menorah each night for eight days. People also celebrate by eating foods fried in oil, such as latkes and sufganiyot. Hanukkah also starts on the same day each year – but on a different calendar.
Christmukkah has its roots in the 19th century, when German Jews, some of whom were becoming increasingly absorbed into mainstream German Christian culture, adopted Christmas traditions in a non-religious way. People can celebrate Christmukkah by combining Christmas and Hanukkah decorations, like decorating a Christmas tree with menorahs and other Jewish symbols. People can also serve different religious foods together like Christmas cookies with Hanukkah latkes. However, though Christmukkah is a popular pop culture term, the holiday is not widely practiced. In addition, Christmukkah can look very different in some families because of different personal beliefs. Some people might prefer to celebrate these two holidays separately.