Let me tell you a secret: I really love Christmas. I blame my parents. I may be a nice Jewish girl who attended shul and cheder and celebrated the chagim, but every December, a large and lavishly decorated Christmas tree would grace our living room. Letters to Santa would be penned and full stockings delivered to our bedsides.
Meanwhile, Chanukah would happily coexist. Although, if I’m honest, the Chanukiah was always somewhat outshone by the tree, and the promise of Santa’s impending arrival on a sparkling sleigh accompanied by reindeer had the extra magic factor. As I didn’t go to a Jewish school, there was nobody to tell me that this was incompatible with my Jewishness or that Santa did not in fact exist.
Later on, after leaving home, my Jewish flatmates were horrified by the prospect of a Christmas tree and vetoed it. But at just that time, The OC’s Jewish character Seth Cohen, played by none other than hot-rabbi-from-Nobody-Wants-This Adam Brody, brought “Chrismukkah” to existence, happily making it cool to celebrate both.
Next month we will have a true Chrismukkah. Because this year, the sunset of Christmas Day coincides with 25 Kislev, the first night of Chanukah. The last time this happened was almost 20 years ago (though in 2016, the first night of Chanukah coincided with Christmas Eve, which was just as good).
It’s extra special for those of us who like to celebrate both the traditions of our Jewish heritage and the traditions of the country in which we live. In a way, it’s the time of year that best sums up the entirety of my family’s British-Jewish identity, and the way we were brought up as the descendants of Polish Jews who left Warsaw for England in the 1800s, having changed their name to the Anglicised “Bray” (from what? I have yet to find out) to better integrate yet never relinquishing their roots.
It’s hard to shake the habits with which you were brought up. Christmas remains my guilty pleasure, except I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty. Every time December draws close, I relish the smell of pine needles, the sound of sleigh bells on the radio, the pretty displays in shop windows and the food. While others are working their way through variety packs of foil-wrapped chocolate, enjoying smoked salmon and champagne for breakfast and staying in their pyjamas all day, so are we.
I know I’m not alone. It’s always intrigued me how so many Jewish musicians appear to love Christmas just as much as me. Let It Snow! was written by the Jewish songwriting duo Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn, though they managed to write their 1945 song about Christmas without actually mentioning the word. Totally unashamed, however, is Barbra Streisand, who has released two festive albums to date: A Christmas Album (1967) and Christmas Memories (2001), as well as the compilation The Classic Christmas Album (2013). Barry Manilow has produced his three (plus a compilation album on top). Bette Midler released Cool Yule in 2006. Neil Diamond arguably loves it most of all: he has released four festive albums since 1992 and a 2022 compilation.
I’ll never forget how my parents captured the magic. One year, they sprayed fake snow all the way from my bedroom down to the fireplace, where Father Christmas would make his grand entrance. Naturally, if something was magical in your childhood, you want to recreate it for your own children. So I look forward to choosing a tree with my three, as we bring them up to embrace the best of their British and Jewish heritages. There will be doughnuts, mince pies and plenty of twinkling lights.
Happy Chrismukkah, everyone!
