Issue date: 12/8/04 Section: Opinion

This week's sign the apocalypse is upon us: A Montana couple created a line of greeting cards celebrating what they call "Chrismukkah."

Ron Gompertz, a reform Jew originally from New York, and his wife Michelle, the daughter of a Methodist minister, believe they have solved an "annual predicament for millions of Americans with both Jewish and Christian persuasions."

In a press release the couple said they were inspired by an episode of "The O.C." where the inter-faith family on the show manages to solve the problem by celebrating "Chrismukah." I don't know what is more frightening that the middle-aged couple, were inspired by "The O.C." or the fact they have managed to dilute their two supposed faiths. The well-intentioned humor of Gompertz is flat just like matzah bread.

The attempt to combine these two holidays is so offensive. Christmas and Hanukkah have absolutely nothing to do with each other. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and is a very important holiday in the Christian faith. Hanukkah is the celebration of the Jewish festival of lights, along with the Macabees victory over Antioch and is one of the more minor holidays in the Jewish faith. Unfortunately, the two holidays fall in the same month and it was only a matter of time before they cross-pollinated.

What the Gompertz have done is strip the religious significance from the two holidays and firmly replace it with the more secular traditions that go with it: Candy canes, Dradles, Santa Claus, Reindeer, Frosty the Snow Man and Matzah Balls.

Oh and you can't forget shopping!

When Christian Evangelicals say that we've destroyed Christmas by removing God from public life, being politically correct and that we need to go back to stoning non-believers, they're only addressing a small part of the problem. They need to recognize that Christmas has become more and more of a consumer holiday than a religious holiday. People think more about DVDs than Jesus. The Christmas season is referenced in "how many shopping days are left till Christmas," and "Holiday Wish Lists." While this transformation was happening among Christian families in the '60s and '70s, Jewish parents felt they had to do something for their children as well.

So, Jews started giving each other gifts each day of Hanukkah. Gift giving during Hanukkah only "started during the last 25-30 years," says Stephanie Malkin, Secretary of the Suffolk Jewish Society. "There is this grave misconception that during the eight days of Hanukkah we have a Christmas mornings each day," said Malkin. As a conservative Jew, Malkin does not partake in the eight days of giving other than a minor gift here or there. She says she finds the practice of celebrating the two holidays to be very confusing. "The two holidays have nothing to do with each other," she said. As far as "Chrismakka" goes Malkin says "It takes away from both; you can't argue that."

And she's right.

Inter-faith families and couples are doing a great disservice to their faiths while insulting those who practice it. You can't practice or participate in the Jewish faith and claim to believe in Jesus Christ or vice-versa.

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