The holiday season features many of the world’s largest and most important mass celebrations. Included are cultural festivities like Thanksgiving, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, the Feast of Guadalupe, and the Gregorian calendar’s New Year’s Eve. Among religious events of the holiday season are Hinduism’s Diwali, Buddhism’s Bodhi Day, Christmas, Hanukkah, and — brace yourself — Chrismukkah, a high-concept, hybrid portmanteau of the latter two holidays, created to honor both Christianity and Judaism.
Whether you consider Chrismukkah a “real holiday” or just a part of pop culture, it has its characteristics, including a floating, December-ish timeframe. Some who celebrate it give small gifts across Hannukah’s eight nights, culminating with one large gift on Christmas Eve or Day; others opt for a gift-free Chrismukkah that stretches across the entire month and incorporates traditions from both faiths. And while it’s a rather informal affair, Chrismukkah actually has a historical foundation confirmed by the Jewish Museum of Berlin.
The Chrismukkah chronology
Modern Chrismukkah’s roots can be traced to 19th-century Germany, where Christian and Jewish neighbors began to share the holiday customs of Weihnachten (the German term for Christmas) and Hanukkah in a happening eventually dubbed “Weihnukkah.” Generally small in scale, these early German Weihnukkah events, the Jerusalem Post reports, were more about “family togetherness than religious observance.” That idea is reflected today in Chrismukkah’s relatively low focus on both the Bible and Torah.
A century after Weihnachten, alternative end-of-year holidays began to pop up on network TV. The 1997 Seinfeld episode about Festivus (titled “The Strike”) is still beloved by fans, and on ABC’s A Very Boy Band Holiday in 2001, Boyz II Men singer Wanya Morris walked viewers through his family’s own Judeo-Christian creation, Hannumass. An imaginative Virgin Mobile TV ad eventually proposed Chrismahanukwanzakah (integrating Kwanzaa), and in 2003, FOX’s The O.C. introduced Chrismukkah as we know it by a character from a Jewish-Christian family.
Creator of The O.C. Josh Schwartz told Rolling Stone that the show’s idea (which was almost called “Hanimas”) came from writer Lauren Gussis, whose family had blended both holidays as a child. Author Ron Gompertz later expanded Gussis’ concept with his book Chrismukkah: Everything You Need to Know to Celebrate the Hybrid Holiday, featuring items like the Yamaclaus (a Jewish yarmulke in Santa’s colors) and Chrismukkah bush (a small pine tree adorned with Stars of David and dreidels).
DIY Chrismukkah parties
Gompertz, the husband in an interfaith marriage, has become truly passionate about the holiday, describing Chrismukkah to NPR as having given his family the chance to “bridge the divide and share in the joy of the season…without feeling we’re giving up one side of our heritage.” He also spoke of Chrismukkah parties held with friends, neighbors, and extended family as producing a sense of true unity he felt the holiday season had always lacked.
Whether or not you’re as sold on the entire package, as Gompertz is, you’ve got to admit that hosting an imaginative Chrismukkah gathering sounds like a fun, unconventional way to bring those of differing faiths together for a special year-end celebration. Drawn from his book, as well as his NPR interview, here are some of Gompertz’s ideas for throwing a memorable Chrismukkah party, along with a few of our own.
Overall strategy
Keep it light
Both groups have seriously different beliefs — one considers Christ the son of God, the other, not so much — so minimize elements involving baby Jesus or Hannukah’s rededication of the Great Temple. Simply curate a festive atmosphere that encourages the true spirit of the holiday season: togetherness.
Balance the soundtrack
Arrange a back-and-forth playlist of Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs. While the former outnumber the latter, all streaming platforms feature albums of traditional Jewish praise music that can be incorporated for balance.
Design & décor
Holiday colors
Focus on creating even visuals by featuring both blue and white (Hanukkah) alongside red and green (Christmas). Color coordinate your tablecloths, napkins, and candles, find candy canes in Hanukkah colors, and serve punches and snacks in both colors.
Chrismukkah centerpiece
Use symbols of both holidays to create one grand party centerpiece for your main table. Try a high-platformed menorah surrounded by Christmas ornaments and stockings, or a living Chrismukkah bush topped with a Star of David.
Thematic lighting
Light your space with a mix of Christmas lights, white and blue bulbs strung on wreaths, and menorahs (both full sized with actual candles and special strings of light-up menorahs). A real fireplace is a big plus; if you don’t have one, stream a YouTube video of a hearth to your TV.
Food & snacks
Seasonal latke bar
Arrange a self-serve latke station with toppings like cranberry sauce, apple sauce, and sour cream for a holly, jolly twist on the classic Hanukkah dish. Miniature Christmas candies, cranberries, and nuts make perfect toppings for the sweeter sauces.
READ MORE: Hanukkah Traditions: The Festival of Lights (and Fried Foods)
Eggnog sufganiyot
For dessert, try sufganiyot (Hanukkah jelly-filled donuts) flavored with eggnog and crowned with holiday sprinkles. An accompanying batch of homemade eggnog — with or without alcohol — certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Cookie decorating
Bake sugar cookies in shapes like the Star of David, dreidels, and Christmas trees, and decorate them with blue, white, red, and green icing. If time permits, allow younger guests to cut, bake, and top their own treats to give parents some free time to chat.
Games & activities
Custom dreidel games
Distribute plastic gelt and dreidels to guests upon arrival, encourage spin-offs throughout the night, and award a holiday wine package to the guest with the most at night's end.
Extended gift exchange
Hold a Secret Santa-style gift exchange (ask guests to bring handmade Chrismukkah cards), but stretch it across the duration of the party to reflect the extended nature of the Hanukkah holiday.
AUTHOR
A former arts and culture writer for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's Pulitzer Prize-winning Patriot News, Jonathan Rowe is a New York-based feature writer for SPIN, Men's Fitness, and WONDERLUST travel. He has crafted original content and news for Sony Music, Live Nation, Spotify, and ESPN, and works as a songwriter in conjunction with multiple Grammy winners.