This 12 months, the 8-day Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, often known as the Pageant of Lights, begins at sundown on Wednesday, December 25, or Christmas Day to the Christian religion.
This overlap, which has not occurred in virtually twenty years, provides rise to a celebration today often known as ‘Chrismukkah’, a time period popularised by the character Seth Cohen from the American TV sequence The O.C.
Cohen, who within the sequence was rising up in an inter-religious dwelling, sought to maximise his household’s festive enjoyable by combining each celebrations.
Hanukkah’s date varies yearly, whereas Christmas stays fastened
Hanukkah’s begin date at all times varies every year as a result of the Jewish calendar is predicated on luni-solar calendar cycles. In keeping with Chabad, months below the Hebrew calendar observe a lunar cycle, lasting about 354 days, fairly than Christian-based societies who observe the now globally-used Roman calendar.
Chrismukkah refers back to the uncommon coincidence that the primary night time of Hanukkah falls on Christmas Day. This phenomenon has not occurred since 2005, and solely 5 occasions since 1900. The primary time the time period ‘Chrismukkah’ was used was simply 20 years in the past, and this 12 months greetings playing cards and festive decorations in some households have begun to acknowledge the celebration as a factor.
Chrismukkah may be traced again to nineteenth century
Whereas today the concept of fusing Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations may be attributed to the US TV present, its actual origins date again to the nineteenth century when German Jews, a few of whom have been changing into more and more drawn into mainstream German Christian tradition, adopted Christmas traditions in a extra secular method and occasionally celebrated the 2 festivals on the identical time.
