‘Chrismukkah’
Interfaith families combine Christmas, Hanukkah food traditions
Interfaith families combine food traditions for Christmas, Hanukkah
In some circles, it’s called “Chrismukkah.” This word combining Christmas and Hanukkah originated with the TV show “The O.C.” when Seth Cohen, a character on the show, wanted to celebrate both his Jewish father’s and Catholic mother’s holidays. While the term may cause some followers of both faiths to bristle, for interfaith families it is especially fitting this year, as Jewish people will light the first Hanukkah candle on Christmas Eve, with the eighth and final candle lighting on New Year’s Eve. This convergence of holidays gives interfaith Jewish and Christian families the opportunity to share traditions simultaneously through food.
Blending religious holiday traditions can be challenging, but an open mind and a willingness to compromise are the two keys to keeping everyone happy, said Marion Usher, a Washington, D.C.-based family therapist with Wisconsin ties.
Usher received her graduate degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is the founder of the website jewish interfaithcouples.com.
Usher created “Love and Religion: An Interfaith Workshop for Jews and Their Partners” and has helped more than 600 couples navigate their interfaith journeys.
“This is a time when both cultures and religions can be celebrated,” Usher says. “We have such food associations growing up, and this year one hopes that families can find ways to ensure that none of the memories get extinguished.”
Case in point: take a nice Jewish girl, Ilissa Rubin (now Boland) from Madison, introduce her to a nice Catholic boy, Wayne Boland from Independence, add a couple of kids and the result is an interfaith family that makes food traditions work at separate but equally fun holiday dinners.
The Bolands live in Whitefish Bay with their son, Alex, 14, and daughter, Olivia, 12. Food plays a big role in both celebrations.
“For Hanukkah we make the traditional brisket and potato pancakes,” Ilissa Boland says, “and for Christmas Wayne’s Aunt Mary makes a pork sauerkraut dish that everyone loves.”
Aunt Mary is Mary Flaherty, a retired nurse who lives in New Berlin. She’s been making this crowd-pleasing side dish for more than 50 years.
“This dish came from my sister Jo’s mother-in-law, who was Polish,” she says. “My sisters use side pork, but I prefer the flavor of salt pork.”
While Mary and her sisters might disagree on which cut of pork to use, they all agree that bagged sauerkraut is the way to go.
“We like the flavor that comes out of the bag, the canned sauerkraut isn’t as good.”
Flaherty appreciates the versatility and unique flavor of this dish.
“This works well with pork, beef or chicken,” she says. “Holiday foods are sometimes very rich and this has a little sour taste; it’s a nice change.”
A Reform Jew, Boland does not adhere to the Jewish dietary laws. However, pork is not kosher, meaning that Jewish people who follow the dietary laws would not eat this dish.
Offering ideas on how to keep two sets of food traditions alive is a fulltime job for Virginiabased cookbook author and blogger Marcia Friedman.
Friedman grew up with a half-Sicilian dad and a foodie mom who taught her to love cooking and baking.
When she fell in love with a Jewish man, Friedman chose to convert to Judaism, a decision that inspired her to learn more about both the Jewish and Italian food traditions.
“I wanted a more tangible connection to the Jewish culture,” Friedman explains, “and through exploring Jewish food, I realized I hadn’t explored my Italian side. I was inspired to pull together my Italian heritage and my adopted Jewish one.”
Friedman wrote a cookbook and created a website, Meatballs and Matzah Balls.
The Hanukkah tradition of serving fried potato pancakes (latkes) led Friedman to create a lemon ricotta pancake recipe that promises to be a standout on any holiday menu.
“Ricotta pancakes fried in oil combine the dairy and the frying of the oil, key traditions of both the Italian and Jewish holidays,” she says.
“This pancake recipe is very festive. I would definitely serve it as a Hanukkah dessert or for a Christmas or Hanukkah breakfast because holiday meals don’t have to be limited to dinnertime.”
Anyone who has ever hosted a holiday gathering knows advance prep helps reduce stress.
“These pancakes taste much better if you make them in advance and freeze them, then bake them in the oven to reheat them,” she says.
“That’s nice for the cook because you don’t have to stand there and make the pancakes one at a time.”
Sharing holiday traditions with families of other religions can be a winwin for everyone.
In Whitefish Bay, 13year-old baking buddies Rachel Abramson, who is Jewish, and Madeline Kogler, who is Christian, whip up batches of green and red Christmas cupcakes and blue and white Hanukkah cupcakes that they then decorate for both holidays.
“Rachel loves to bake, anytime, all year round,” says Rachel’s mom, Lara Abramson. “The holidays give her an excuse to do it.”
Madeline is happy to learn about Hanukkah. She was even up for trying that traditional Jewish holiday food, beef brisket.
“I didn’t know anything about Hanukkah before I met Rachel, but I can say I celebrate Hanukkah now. Brisket is great, I like brisket; I can say that now, too!”
While Lara Abramson wasn’t raised Jewish, she converted to Judaism shortly before she married husband Marty in 2000.
The Abramsons are raising Rachel and her brother, Derek, 15, in the Jewish faith, but they all celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas with their extended families.
Abramson got her mother-in-law’s brisket recipe and then modified it to fit her busy lifestyle as a working mom.
“My mother-in-law makes brisket in the oven at a low heat for a long period of time,” she explains. This results in tender, delicious meat, but it was too time consuming.
“My mother-in-law, Gilda, said, ‘What? You’re cooking brisket in a crockpot?’ Because I’m working and I’m not home all day, I decided to try it.”
The idea worked and the proof was in the taste and texture. Says Abramson: “My crockpot brisket is as tender as Gilda’s.”