Resistance Yule: Celebrate All the Holidays
Something interesting and wonderful happens this holiday season: The first day of Hanukkah this year begins at sundown on Christmas Day and continues for eight days that intersect with the week-long observance of Kwanzaa. In this divided era under the forthcoming authoritarian, right-wing rule of AMAGAta Fuhrer Trump, this is sort of amazing. Shared observances could short-circuit the mind of a red-hatted Fox News “War on Christmas” soldier. I say we blow their regressive minds further: Celebrate all the holidays.
Seriously, why not celebrate it all? My family always did, because the concept is nothing new.
I recall many happy years being surrounded by diverse trappings of the season: a Christmas tree, dreidels, harvest baskets filled with fruits and flowers. It was always a thrill to get and give presents on Christmas Day and on each of Hanukkah’s eight crazy nights too. To this day, our holidays consist of a blending of many traditions and tastes. Something would feel wrong if our table didn’t include Christmas snickerdoodles and latkes an
We aren’t alone in celebrating cross-culturally: Many blended households have combined Christmas and Hanukkah for decades. The mid-aughts TV show The O.C. featured multiculti celebration as a storyline. A 2006 book, Chrismukkah: Everything You Need to Know to Celebrate the Hybrid Holiday, shares the annual traditions of Christian-Jewish families and explains the beauty and love behind them.
From author Ron Gompert:
Chrismukkah is a gumbo of secular traditions. It’s the good stuff we can enjoy, no matter what our faith… snowmen, sleigh rides, twinkling lights, flickering candles, getting together with family and friends. It’s a medley of Bing Crosby’s crooning “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” Bruce Springsteen’s rollicking “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and Adam Sandler’s nebbishy “Hanukkah Song.” It’s decorating the holiday tree, baking cookies, lighting candles, nibbling on chocolate gelt and peppermint sticks. Chrismukkah begins on the first night of Hanukkah and continues through Christmas Day (or the last night of Hanukkah, whichever occurs later). Chrismukkah is dogma-free and completely customizable… so feel free to add your favorite rituals from the other December holidays…Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Boxing or Bodhi Day – even Festivus.
The book tells of other benefits to celebrating it all: “It’s a way to level the playing field, to solve what’s been called the December Dilemma. It can eliminate friction, confusion, and awkwardness sometimes brought on by the holidays. And for parents, Chrismukkah can be a great way to introduce children to the traditions and rituals of both Hanukkah and Christmas.”
Indeed, what could be better than inclusion during the season of peace, love, and goodwill — or during the dark days preceding the return of Trump? When people disagree over political and religious issues, many call for focusing on commonalities rather than differences. Says Chrismukkah, “Liberals and conservatives, black and white, straight and gay, atheist and evangelical, naughty and nice – all are invited to pin the dreidel under the mistletoe!”
Sounds like woke-AF heaven to me. Especially when friends are brought into the equation. What better way to build bridges or repair estrangements than by sharing traditions? And what better way to honor cross-cultural blendings — and perhaps entice recalcitrant MAGA-embracing relatives — than with food?
One of the best parts of Chrismukkah is the recipes it shares. Kathy Stark, who created these recipes, calls them “hybrids” that take the yummiest Christian and Jewish traditional dishes and combine them in the most delicious ways.
The recipes presented in what the authors call a “merry mishmash holiday cookbook” must follow three rules: They must taste really good. They must use elements from different cultures. And they shouldn’t offend anyone’s grandparents. (Meaning, you will not see a recipe for gefilte ham. Also, many of the offerings have the added benefit of being Kosher.)
So, forget the old man’s disapproval: Your holidays — and your appreciation of your fellow humans — can and will be enhanced by embracing multiple traditions. Resist the regression — celebrate all the holidays. Who knows, perhaps inviting the disapproving to experience your diversity of observances can serve to open their minds and hearts. Hey, even the Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge finally found a clue.
Enjoy one of my favorite Chrismukkah treats and another recipe from the Davis-Freeberg-Connolly multiculti kitchen. Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, Resist, and Merry Mazel Tov!
Deck the halls with lots of tchotchkes…
Fa la la la la la la la la.
‘Tis the season to eat latkes…
Fa la la la la la la L’Chaim!
Judy’s Cheddar Cheese Gelt, from Chrismukkah
“Hanukkah gelt is the foil-wrapped chocolate loot that children wager when playing the dreidel game.
Most trace gelt back to the 6th century when children were given gifts of money during Hanukkah family gatherings. Another theory is that gelt symbolizes the bags of coins, plunder, and assorted booty distributed as reward to the Maccabee soldiers after their victory over the Syrians. Since chocolate gelt is an established Hanukkah icon, we wanted to find an equivalent new food tradition for Chrismukkah. We discovered that cheese gelt could complement Chrismukkah as naturally as Hillshire Farm cheese balls do Christmas.”
Ingredients
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. rosemary
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Procedures
Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse or mix by hand until dough forms into
a ball.
Shape the dough into a log [1/4 inch wide] and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
Chill for at least two hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/177 degrees Celsius and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Slice the log into 1/4-inch coins and place them onto a baking sheet.
Bake until golden brown, 15-18 minutes.
Cool and store in an airtight container.
Makes 12 servings.
Nat’s Sweet Potato Christmas and Kwanzaa Latkes
Using sweet potatoes gives these pancakes, which I serve every Christmas morning and at our first-night-of-Hanukkah seder, real “We Are the World” holiday vibes. Given that Christmas and the Festival of Lights collide this year, we’ll be downing these babies all day long on Dec. 25 and enjoying more when Kwanzaa starts the next day. Score!
Ingredients
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded
1 small onion, minced
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 tbsps. brown sugar (optional)
3 tbsps. whole-wheat flour (or gluten-free flour; I recommend Jules GF)
1 tbsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons canola oil for frying
Procedures
Put the sweet potatoes into a colander. Squeeze out as much of the liquid from the potatoes as possible (using cheesecloth or a newly clean dish cloth can help). Do this a couple of times; you want to ensure that the spuds are as dry as you can get them.
Place the potatoes in a large bowl. Add the minced onion, eggs, brown sugar, flour, and spices and mix thoroughly.
Heat canola oil in a heavy frying pan, taking care not to allow oil to become too hot — we don’t want it to burn. (If you use an electric skillet, heat it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius.)
Using clean hands, shape the potato mixture into 3- or 4-inch wide cakes.
Fry the latkes in the hot oil, turning them when bubbles appear around the cakes’ edges (about 2-3 minutes). Both sides should be golden brown.
Drain on paper towels, and serve hot with sour cream, honey, hot pepper sauce, or whole-fruit preserves.
Yields roughly a dozen latkes.
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