Thanksgivukkah is the name given to the convergence of the American holiday of
Thanksgiving and the first
day of Hanukkah on
November 28, 2013. It is a result of a rare kink between the lunar Hebrew calendar and the Gregorian calendar. According to nuclear physicist Jonathan Mizrahi, the overlap only occurs once every 80,000 years.
The phrase was coined by Boston-area resident Dana Gitell. Gitell, along with her
sister-in-law Deborah Gitell, created a Facebook page and Twitter account devoted to the phenomenon. A Los Angeles-based festival
will be held on November 29, 2013 at the Pico Union Building.
Thanksgivukkah is characterized by products promoted on and sold online. Funds to produce a turkey-shaped menorah, dubbed "a menurkey" were raised via a Kickstarter campaign. The Los Angeles Thanksgivukkah festival is being funded by a campaign on Jewcer.
While the imagery and products surrounding the day are light-hearted, advocates contend it has a broader significance resonant with American
democracy. "There are amazing similarities between the Pilgrims’ quest for religious freedom and what the Maccabees were fighting for,” one organizer told the
New York Daily News.“This a great opportunity for Jewish Americans to celebrate this country and for everyone to acknowledge the greatness of our shared religious freedoms.”
Combined holiday of
Thanksgiving and the first
day of Hanukkah, hence "Thanksgivukkah," on
November 28th, 2013. Resulting from the rare kink between the lunar Hebrew calendar and the Gregorian calendar which occurs every 80,000 years!
