The American holiday of Thanksgiving and the Jewish celebration of the first day (second night) of Chanukah converged on November 28, 2013, giving rise to the witty portmanteau neologism (a new word created by merging two words): Thanksgivukkah.
The term, which exclusively refers to the confluence of Thanksgiving and the second night of Chanukah, has attracted much attention nationally for its rareness. The overlap of both holidays has merely three precedents: Thanksgiving coincided with the first day of Chanukah on November 29, 1888; the fourth day of Chanukah on November 30, 1899; and Chanukah eve (the first night of Chanukah, since Jewish holidays commence after sundown) on November 28, 1918.
The shifting appearance of Chanukah on the Gregorian calendar each year is attributable to the variable day length of the lunisolar Hebrew calendar, ranging from 353 days to 385 days. Thus, Chanukah occurs at a different time annually because the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars drift apart, so to speak.
Under the condition that the Thanksgiving schedule and Gregorian and Jewish calendar cycles remain constant, the next concurrence of both holidays will occur on November 27, 2070—the first night of Chanukah. The same intersection will occur on November 28, 2165. Thanksgivukkah—referring specifically to the convergence of Thanksgiving and the second night of Chanukah—will not occur again until November 28, 79811, according to projected calculations into the foreseeable future.
Americans developed various ways of honoring the unique synchronicity. The Macy’s Day Parade, for example, featured a colossal dreidel, while The Dirty Sock Funtime Band entitled a song “Hanukkah, O Hanukkah (Introducing the Menurkey!).” The concurrence of both holidays, further, has engendered novel culinary creations, including latkes with cranberry apple sauce, challah-stuffed turkey, and pumpkin kugel. A turkey-shaped “menurkey” or “turkorah” has also evolved to creatively symbolize the crossing of holidays.
For Jewish Americans nationwide, the presence of the Menorah at the Thanksgiving table was perhaps an unusual though entertaining experience.
