THANKSGIVUKKAH—NOT JUST A FUN COINCIDENCE, THE MESSAGE FITS TOGETHER By Daniel Burke, Belief Blog Co-editor (CNN) - Break out the menurkeys and sweet potato latkes, people, its time to celebrate Thanksgivukkah, a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. A calendrical quirk brings the first day of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving together this Thursday for the first time since 1888. Scientists say the confluence wont occur again for another 70,000 years, give or take a millennium. Dana Gitell, a 37-year-old marketing manager for a Jewish nonprofit in Massachusetts, is the mind behind the mashup Thanksgivukkah. (If you think thats a mouthful, her other ideas were Thanksgiving-ukkah and Hanukkahgiving, both of which caused our spellchecker to sputter and die.) But with the right portmanteau in place, the Thanksgivukkah idea caught fire faster than a deep-fried turkey. Gitell is gathering an online album of Thanksgivukkah celebrations, and says shes received submissions from places like South Dakota and Anchorage, Alaska – outposts not typically known for having vibrant Jewish communities. Even rabbis from ultra-Orthodox sects like Chabad have jumped on board the Thanksgivukkah bandwagon. At first I didnt know how rabbis would respond to something as irreverent as a mashup, Gittel says, but they almost uniformly embraced it. Its completely kosher. We dont know if the rabbis approve of everything on our list, because people are sorta going nuts. Must be that once-in-an-eon thing. But without further ado (and with a nod toward Adam Sandlers Eight Crazy Nights), here are eight ways to celebrate Thanksgivukkah. 1. Light a menurkey Leave it to a fourth-grader to create the ultimate Thanksgivukkah icon. Asher Weintraub came up with the idea during a family trip to Florida last year. The little genius from New York City thought itd be really cool to have a menorah, the nine-branched candelabrum used to mark Hanukkah, in the shape of a turkey. Weintraub created a Kickstarter account, raised $50,000, made a 3-D prototype and heroically fended off his fathers attempt to rename the thing a menorkey. Nice job, kiddo. The father in question, Anthony Weintraub, says hes sold between 6,000 and 7,000 menurkeys, including a few to famous finance experts and owners of National Football League teams. Im beginning to think my life as a menorah salesman isnt over, says Anthony Weintraub. 2. Make a nice Turbrisket Lets face it, Thanksgiving was getting pretty gonzo even before meeting Hanukkah. I mean, turducken? But Thanksgivukkah has taken meal mashups to a new level. Youve got your Turbrisket (turkey filled with brisket), your deep-fried turkey, your sweet potato latkes, your cranberry-stuffed knishes, your pumpkin kugel, your pecan pie rugelach – I could go on, but Ill get fat just by typing the rest of the list. Marlene Eldemire of Cincinnati says her family wanted to make the huge mashup menu Buzzfeed posted earlier this month. I told them they can go ahead and make it, Eldemire says with a laugh. Theres no way. So her family is settling for a few Hanukkah standbys like brisket thatll sit next to the turkey and sweet potatoes this Thursday. 3. Deck the halls for the Challahday This is another spot where people are getting really creative, says Kali Brodsky, editor of JewishBoston. Theyre making pumpkin menorahs, Thanksgivukkah coloring books for kids, and table settings that mix and match Hanukkah and Thanksgiving themes. Rabbi Rachel Silverman of Boston says shes decorating her table with Thanksgiving symbols (a cornucopia, pumpkins, harvest bouquet) and Hanukkah items (a menorah, gold-colored coins called gelt). If youre feeling lazy, Brodsky says, you can just print out the Thanksgivukkah place cards JewishBoston has created and set a place for Bubbe. 4. Watch a really big dreidel spin down the streets of New York To honor the confluence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, Macys has created a 25-foot-tall, 21-foot-wide dreidel for its iconic parade. The balloonicle (part balloon, part vehicle) will spin just like a real dreidel, and its the first time the parade has included a Jewish symbol, according to Macys. Inclusion of the dreidel balloonicle is indicative of both a nod to the rare occasion in which Hanukkahs first day falls on Thanksgiving and of the dreidels inherent entertainment value, says Macys spokesman Orlando Veras. 5. Party like its 165 BC (and 1621 CE) Hanukkah, for those who need a refresher course, marks the miracle of the successful defense of the Jewish temple by the Maccabees, an army of Jewish rebels, against the Goliath-like Syrian-Greek army in 165 BC. One days supply of oil somehow lit the temples menorah for eight days, and the rest is history. The Jewish event and the Pilgrims arrival in America are both celebrations of religious freedom, says Sherry Kuiper. At Kuipers synagogue, Temple Israel in Columbus, Georgia, the kids led a service in which they dressed up like the Maccabees and Pilgrims, traveled in a make-believe time machine, and celebrated Thanksgivukkah together. The parallel isnt perfect, Kuiper acknowledges. After all, the Native Americans certainly dont celebrate Thanksgiving as the birth of their religious freedom. But Thanksgivukkah offers a reminder that the more things change, the more some things – like the human need to express gratitude – stay the same, Kuiper said. 6. Kvetch about Thanksgivukkah Okay, this one isnt exactly about celebrating. But it must be acknowledged, some folks just arent into the Thanksgivukkah spirit. Thanksgiving was one of the few holidays on which interfaith families didnt have to explain to the kids why mom believes this and dad believes that, argues Allison Benedikt in a recent Slate column. I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have this one major holiday—the best one!—that isn’t in some part about what I am and my husband is not (Jewish), or what he is and I’m not (Christmas-celebrating), Benedikt says. (And for just the record, sweet and sour braised brisket with cranberry sauce is an abomination, she says.) Jennie Rivlin Roberts, whose Judaica store, Modern Tribe, is selling Thanksgivukkah gear like hotcakes, says she understands some of the kvetching. But a mashup of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah is so much better than the usual December dilemma, the overlap of the eight-day Jewish holiday and the cultural behemoth know as Christmas, Roberts says. With Thanksgivukkah, youre not really mixing two religions, so you can really go for it. People may say its silly, and yeah, some of it is, but its also full of fun and joy. 7. Watch a rap battle between a turkey and a dreidel Julie Benko was stuck on the subway in New York City for two hours, and she was bored. So, she did what any sane person would do - she wrote a song about Thanksgivukkah. OK, Benko is not your average straphanger. Shes something of a Broadway belle, having just returned from playing Cosette on a national tour of Les Miserables. But that doesnt mean its any easier to find a rhyme for Thanksgivukkah. Still, Benkos klezmer-inspired tune has lots of YouTube competition. Theres the rap battle between a turkey and a dreidel sponsored by Manischewitz. (Yes, they rock it old shul.) Theres the slickly produced Oils: A Thanksgivukkah Miracle. And theres this cute little number from the the Kehillah Schechter Academy in Norwood, Massachusetts, called The Ballad of Thanksgivukkah. 8. Watch a scary movie about stereotypes After all the candle-lighting and the decorating and eating and the kvetching and the singing, lets face it, youre probably going to be pretty tired. So why not plop down on the couch to watch the trailer for a Thanksgivukkah-themed horror movie? Thanksgivukkah: The Movie is about a nice gentile family who find their Thanksgiving celebration invaded by a family of ultra-Orthodox Jews. Jokes about religious stereotypes ensue. We dont know if the trailer, which is made by Jewish filmmakers, is completely kosher, but we guess theres enough time for the rabbis to sort it out in time for the next Thanksgivukkah. So, thats it. Well see you next Thanksgivukkah, in 70,000 years or so. In the meantime, Gobble tov, my friends.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 14:16:01 +0000
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