How to Celebrate the Nativity of Christ
According to the Pew Research Center, 39% of those who have been married since 2010 have a spouse who belongs to a different religious group . When you collaborate with someone with a different religious or cultural background, sometimes you need to mix your holiday traditions or create new ones to suit your interfaith needs, especially when those traditions involve children, blended families, or extended families. If your family celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, like I did when I was little, here are some tips on how to get the most out of your Christmas (Christmas + Hanukkah) celebration.
Christmas decoration
Why not hang menorah ornaments on the tree, or place the top of the Star of David on the tree ? I think plain white lights are a celebration without stating their commitment to any particular winter holiday, or you could choose something like this Christmas garland of lights depicting the symbols of both denominations. The Etsy Fusioned Family store has a variety of interfaith ornaments and wall décor with phrases such as “A House United” and “Oy to the World.”
Christmas and Hanukkah: Movies and TV Shows
There are several films in which families celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah at the same time (including ” Little Fockers” and ” Hooked for the Holidays”), but the Christmas celebration that was televised on OG was taken from The OC TV show, which aired in 2000 years. The series introduced theconcept of Christmas to the masses through phrases such as “Oops, Humbug, ” and each season had an episode of Christmas.
Books to celebrate the season
When I was growing up (in the pre-Azonian era), books about Christmas and Hanukkah that are celebrated together were hard to find. There are quite a few children’s books that fit this description, including Hanukkah Harvey vs. Santa Claus: The Feast of the Nativity , Light the Lights! A story about the celebration of Hanukkah and Christmas , “ My Two Holidays: The Story of Hanukkah and Christmas” , “ Pancakes for Blitzen” , ” Daddy Christmas and Hanukkah, Mom” . For adults, there is a book, Christmuk: Everything You Need to Know to Celebrate a Hybrid Party , which has many ideas on how to celebrate a hybrid holiday.
Chrismukkah Food
You really didn’t live to eat Christmas cookies and latkes at the same time – a sweet and savory combination that is impossible to beat. Similarly, I believe that the egg eggnog and Hanukkah Geltow perfectly combined with each other. Consider eating some Hanukkah dishes (this food and wine guide has a lot of new classic food highlights) alongside some of the Christmas favorites at a gala dinner.
Gifts for Christmas
Many families who celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas at the same time will give gifts for both. If you’re looking for gifts specifically dedicated to Christmas, how about a beautiful Christmas mug “Oy Joy” (with holly and dreidel), a Happy Chrismukkah tea towel (with tree and menorah) or this big cat bag celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah with tails entwined? The Etsy Interfaith Living store has many great gifts like an ugly interfaith sweater as well as Christmas gift wrapping .
Holiday Cards
Mixed Blessing is a website dedicated to interfaith and multicultural celebrations, and they have a good selection of Christmas cards, including one called Santa Rabbi Selfie and another that says Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkot (this one really tests all my boxes as i love puns and we are interspecies household too). There is also a Happy Chrismukkah card on which from OC Seth Cohen is holding a menorah and a candy.
Seasonal Music
Christmas songs still dominate most holiday playlists, but you can find a few Christmas songs on YouTube . Your best bet is to include some of your favorite Christmas songs in the playlist, as well as a few Hanukkah songs (I recommend bagels and bongos ) and hit randomly.
Christmas holidays
This Ultimate Christmas Party Guide is full of great suggestions such as serving Mazel Tov cocktails and mulled wine; eating donuts with egg sauce and Hanukkah candies; and wearing a yamaklaus (a yarmulke that looks like a Santa hat).
So decorate the halls with holly branches and a menorah and wish you a Merry Christmas!