The Roots of Chrismukkah
Michelle and I were married in early 2003. We had both lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 20 years, and frankly, it was time for a change. That first year December, we were still living in our cozy little beach house just south of San Francisco, yearning for a return to the 4 seasons, a yearning for a place when it might actually snow during the holidays We had begun hatching a plan to move to up to beautiful mountain valley in southwestern Montana, a place we knew from past vacations. Meanwhile, our 6 month old daughter Minna was doing her best to keep us awake all night.
One sleep deprived evening, we were slumped on the sofa, watching TV. The holiday episode of one of our guiity pleasures, "The O.C." was on and "Chrismukkah" was being celebrated by the Jewish/Protestant family on the show. When I heard Seth Cohen say Chrismukah, I had to laugh at this inside joke. Like many others, I had received emailings of the widely ciruclated "Chrismukkah press release" (originally a satiric jab at monopolization of the media - see below) we appreciated the tongue-in-cheek, ironic reference to the holidays as celebrated in sunny Southern California. The name had resonanted with us... a newly minted interfaith family. Michelle - midwestern bred daughter of a Protestant minister, and me - a New York City Jewish boy - had a few things in common with the O.C.'s Cohen family.
The next day, Michelle sat at her computer making our annual home-made cards. This year, of course, the card would have to feature a photo of Minna. Below her picture, Michelle wrote "Happy Chrismukkah." We send the cards out to all our friends and relatives. In general, the reaction was positive with only the occasional "Oy Humbug" from a few conservative recipients.
On January 28th, 2004, we launched Chrismukkah.com Version 1.0. The site announced our upcoming Chrismukkah cards and "menornaments." Over the next few months we designed the cards and set-up company operations. Version 2.0 with a fully functioning shopping cart launched in September 2004. Our first orders came in within hours. In October we began a modest media campaign. Here you can read the October 2004 Chrismukkah press release.
Merry Mazel Tov
Michelle, Minna and Ron Gompertz
Bozeman, Montana.
September, 2005
