If you're an observant Jew, you probably already know that the first full day of Hanukkah falls on Thanksgiving. If you're not an observant Jew, well, now you know. This rare convergence has been given the questionable portmanteau of "Thanksgivukkah," which is still probably better than "Hanugiving." The last time this happened was 1888. And if you believe this quantum physicist, it won't happen for again for 70,000 years. For that, you can thank the Hebrew lunisolar calendar and the Gregorian calendar, which operate on very different systems. We're not going to try to do the math for you, because this explanation does it a whole lot better than we ever could.
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But how might the Chosen People and game gentiles celebrate this twin holiday? Well, first as always is the food. Buzzfeed put together a menu of Manischewitz-braised turkey, challah-apple stuffing, and pecan pie rugelach that satisfies both the secular and religious traditions. (But whether turkey is considered kosher is up for debate — despite the fact that Israelis eat more turkey per capita than anyone else.) You can wish everyone "gobble tov" as you pass around the copious amounts of wine necessary for most family Thanksgivings.
You can light up your holiday table with a Menurkey, a ceramic menorah in the shape of a turkey. It was created by a fourth-grader who tapped none other than MakerBot to help him create a prototype and launched an overwhelmingly successful Kickstarter campaign.
There are, naturally, t-shirts and posters that pun as hard as possible: "Nun Gobble Hey Shin" reads one. "8 Days of Light, Liberty, and Latkes," reads another.
But if you're super-strict about calendar rules, this might all be for naught. Hannukah begins the night of November 27, which means that Thanksgivukkah only falls on the first full day of Hannukah. But do you really want to wait another 70,000 years to get it absolutely right? (MSN)
Photo: Via Kickstarter.
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