The celebration of both Jewish and Christian festivities is popularly known as Chrismukkah. In 2024, Hanukkah begins at sundown on Christmas day, which happens fairly infrequently.
Chrismukkah has its roots in the 19th century — when German Jews, some of whom were becoming increasingly assimilated into mainstream German Christian culture — adopted Christmas traditions in a secular way. The celebration was originally called Weihnukkah (“Weihnachten” means “Christmas” in German.)
“On the one hand, the assimilation was a sign of social acceptance and economic and political integration,” wrote journalist James Wald in a 2016 article about the holiday for The Times of Israel. “On the other hand, it led to a decline in the Jewish population.”
In the U.S., Chrismukkah has gained pop culture significance over the past couple of decades after being the focus of a December 2003 episode of the TV series The O.C. One of the show’s main characters, Seth Cohen, observed the holiday as a way to celebrate his combined Jewish and Protestant heritage. The O.C. went on to have annual Chrismukkah specials.