The Chrismukkah Timeline
Germany, 1880s. The Jewish Museum of Berlin traces Chrismukkah's origin back to the late 1800s. "Celebrating Christmas with a tree, songs, and gifts became a symbol of being a part of German culture for many middle-class Jewish families in the 19th century. Jews celebrated Christmas as a secular "festival of the world around us" without religious meaning, or they transferred Christmas customs to the Hanukkah festival. This mixture was and is referred to as Weihnukkah, which translated into English is Chrismukkah."Germany, 1940s Doctor Roger Hertz (my father's cousin) recalls the celebration of Weihnukkah in the Germany of his childhood. "The term Weihnukkah dates back to at least the 1940s when I first heard it.... The little Christmas tree about 2 feet high at a friends haus was called a Weihnukkah Bush."
New York City, 1950s-60s Rita (my mother) grew up in Germany during the 1930s and 40's. Her mother, Friedel Cohen, was Jewish while her father, Theodor Thormahlen, was Lutheran. The Nazi government considered Rita a "mischling" - a mutt. While she was spared from being sent to a concentration camp, she was ostracized by her peers and community and not allowed to attend school. Despite Friedel's secular Judaism, Theodor's parents forbade her from visiting their house. Theodor said it was for their own safety that he prohibited the family from ever participating in any Jewish holidays or customs. Consequently, Rita never knew anything about Hanukkah. However, she has fond memories of celebrating Christmas as a little girl... especially the ritual of decorating the "Weihnachte" tree.
After coming to America, Rita married Fred (my father) Gompertz, also a German-Jewish refuge. Fred's family were "reform" Jews and his father Leo co-founded their new community synagogue. Despite Rita's reconnection to the Jewish community, she missed the Christmas tree of her youth. Consequently, Rita began a ritual of decorating a small tree in their living room. She hung a colorful assortment of candy canes, stars, dreidels and small red mesh Santa Claus stockings filled with Hanukkah gelt candy. Her young boys loved the little ""Hanukkah Bush." and jokingly referred to their holiday as "Hanumas."
Cyberspace December 1998 Michael Nathanson, a New Haven, Connecticut high school teacher sends out a "satiric" press release about the supposed corporate merger of Christmas and Hanukkah.
Nathanson explains: "The press release was intended as a joke in the wake of all the other mergers that were going on. I sent it to about 15 friends and assumed that was the end of it. It was only the next October when I became aware that it had survived in cyberspace. In December 1999, it was circulated everywhere over email and was even read on CarTalk. Exponential growth, indeed."
Hawaii, 1999 The Word Spy traces first appearance of the word Chrismukkah to a story by Mary Adamski in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, March 27, 1999 - "Couple's engagement brings twist of faiths," Osheroff, 31, said: "I want to give our children the best of both worlds. We'll have Hanukkah and we'll have Christmas. We'll celebrate Passover and Easter." She said others in her family celebrate "Hallmark holidays with Easter bunny and Santa ... but with Dan's family and background, I would like my children to know the religious holidays." Their vow of shared holidays has already led to their "Chrismukkah" tree, the December pine tree decorated with the star of David and other Hanukkah symbols as well as Christmas ornaments.
December, 2003 Chrismukkah attains mainstream American pop culture status when on December 3rd, 2003, the T.V. show the OC aired an episode called "The Best Chrismukkah Ever."
December, 2003 Ron and Michelle Gompertz mail out " Happy Chrismukkah" cards to friends and family in honor of their newborn daughter Minna.
February, 2004 Chrismukkah.com launches it's website previewing it's line of Chrismukkah greeting cards and Menorahments.
November, 2004 Chrismukkah stories appear in newspapers, televisions and radios around the world, including the Associated Press, USA Today, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, London Times, Ha'aretz in Tel Aviv, and Pravda in Russia.
December, 2004 A story appears in the Edinburgh Scotsman announcing the addition of the word Chrismukkah to the authoritativeChambers Dictionary of Scotland.
December, 2004 Chrismukkah was listed as one of Time Magazines "Buzzwords" of 2004.
October 28, 2005 The Jewish Museum of Berlin opens an exhibition called "Chrismukkah. Stories of Christmas and Hanukkah"
November 7, 2005 Chrismukkah.com founder announces the release of his new book "Chrismukkah: The Merry Mish-Mash Holiday Cookbook."
