This year, the first night of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving collided to form the mega holiday “Thanksgivukkah,” an occasion that will not happen again for another 75,000 years. Hanukkah follows the lunar calendar instead of the solar calendar, and Jewish holidays vary each year, which is what allowed the turkey to be cut and the menorah lit on the same night.
“It’s something we’ll never see again in our lifetime or for generations,” Lisa Besnoy, director of Hillel Jewish student life, said. “It was very special because it was the first day of Hanukkah and it was Thanksgiving. Jewish holidays usually begin the night before. Our students had a little bit of a different experience because typically they might not be able to go home for Hanukkah, but a lot of our students were home for Thanksgiving, so they got to share that with their families.”
Some UA students will be celebrating the last night of Hanukkah at the Hillel House with traditional Jewish foods such as latkes and sufganiyot.
Some unable to attend the event are choosing to celebrate Hanukkah in their own way. “Christmukkah” is the combination of Christmas and Hanukkah. Ben Bruno, a sophomore majoring in international studies, said he usually celebrates the first night of Hanukkah and Christmas by dividing up the gifts and lighting the menorah.
“We’ve always had a Christmas tree, so I never felt like I missed out on that,” Bruno said.
Ben Flax, a senior majoring in religious studies, decorated a Christmas tree for the first time last year. He refers to the ornaments as “orbs,” but he saidgrowing up, he never felt like he was left out when it came to other kids celebrating Christmas traditions.
“My dad always made Hanukkah a lot of fun. As a military chaplain, we always were on base for at least one night lighting a massive menorah,” Flax said.
Lighting the tree can be significant to most families, but for Flax it is all about lighting the menorah, he said. Even when he cannot be with his family, Flax takes comfort in knowing that his family is singing the same songs and lighting the same candles, even though he said Hanukkah is not a major Jewish holiday.
“Many people think that it is the most important due to its focus in western society since it’s around Christmas, and we have to be politically correct,” Flax said. “The reason most people focus on Hanukkah is because it is more attractive than say Yom Kippur when everyone is fasting, even though Yom Kippur and the other biblical holidays are more important.”
