What do you get when combine a menorah and a dreidel with turkey and gravy?
You may assume that it’s a recipe for a very bizarre new holiday — and you’d be correct. That describes this upcoming Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, which also happens to be the first day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. By mixing thankfulness with appreciation for miracles, these two festivities make a delightful word for something I cannot wait to celebrate: Thanksgivukkah.
For the uninitiated, let me offer a quick lesson from the unofficial syllabus of Hanukkah 101. The eight-day celebration, also known as the Festival of Lights, begins each year on the 25th day of Kislev. No, that isn’t a strange, hip nickname for November or December; Kislev is a month in the Hebrew calendar, which does not coincide with the Gregorian calendar, the unofficial global calendar standard. As a result, Hanukkah — like all Jewish holidays — falls on a different Gregorian date each year. The latest possible start date is Dec. 26 and the earliest is this year’s date.
Meanwhile, Thanksgiving doesn’t have a set date either. Since Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday in 1863 — making this year the 150th official Thanksgiving — it has been celebrated on a Thursday in November. The exact week bounced around a bit, with different presidents and congresses declaring it be celebrated on either the third, fourth or final Thursday of November, until Theodore Roosevelt cemented it as the fourth Thursday under federal law in 1941. So, the 28th is now the latest possible date to enjoy the day off from school and work by pigging out on pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce.
If you understood that somewhat complex explanation, you’ve likely reached the logical conclusion that Thanksgivukkah is a rare occurrence. But Thanksgivukkah isn’t rare in the sense that a four-leaf clover or a full moon is uncommon; this convergence of sweet potato pie and potato pancakes is so exceptional that none of us will ever see it again in our lifetimes, nor will our children or grandchildren. The only other time it occurred was in 1888 and, according to scientific estimates, it won’t occur again until the year 79811. No, that’s not a typo. Perhaps there will be world peace or an alien invasion before Thanksgivukkah returns in 77,798 years.
Why such an extreme time jump? Well, thank the intricacies of the Hebrew calendar, which is slowly shifting away from the Gregorian calendar, at a rate of four days per 1,000 years. So, the earliest date of Hanukkah will eventually be Nov. 29, too late for Thanksgiving to occur. But, eventually, if the Hebrew calendar is never modified, Hanukkah will slowly move through the Gregorian year, looping all the way back to its current date.
To fully explain the science of it, I’d need this article to take up the entire length of the paper. So, instead, let’s stay fascinated at this truly rare alignment together. No matter your religion or nationality, you can get into the special holiday spirit. The Internet is a treasure chest — or rather, cornucopia — full of Thanksgivukkah suggestions. Simply Google the term and you’ll be presented with more than 1,160,000 search results, including blogs, news articles, recipes, retail items, cards and events. You can salivate over potato pancakes made with sweet potatoes, order a shirt that reads “8 days of light, liberty & latkes,” make challah-apple stuffing, and create a turkey-shaped menorah — nicknamed a menurkey.
So, enjoy the day off, build up your appetite, listen to an Adam Sandler song or two, and get ready for to have a holly jolly Thanksgivukkah.
