Make It a Thanksgivukkah to Remember…

The small-business-with-a-bit-of-sass blog post originally scheduled in my editorial calendar for this week will just have to remain a surprise for another time. This is one of the advantages of running your own blog – you can piggyback hot trends and rare occurrences as you please (or “as you wish”).

I’ve decided to take advantage of the unbelievable alignment of two holidays that could make for a beautiful relationship: Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. And let me be clear – I did not coin the phrase “Thanksgivukkah.” I’m merely weaving with the gossamer thread of others’ commercial creativity…

This Isn’t the First Thanksgivukkah in History: According to the nice people at Chabad.org, 11/28/13 is not the first time turkeys and foil-covered Hanukkah gelt will party as mixed company. Through the magic of their Date Converter, Chabad.org says an earlier occurrence of Thanksgivukkah happened on November 29, 1888. And you know what? Darned if it didn’t happen again in 1899.

If Thanksgiving continues along its Gregorian-calendar path and the Jewish calendar’s 19-year cycle remains constant, Thanksgivukkah will visit us again in 2070. For more interesting facts regarding random intersections of the Gregorian and Jewish calendars, read the full Chabad.org article.

Adam Sandler Needs to Write Another Sequel to “The Chanukah Song”: I hope I don’t need to jog your memory too hard regarding the first appearance of Adam Sandler’s “The Chanukah Song.” This blessed event took place on Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” segment the night of December 3, 1994. Here’s my favorite line from the original version of the song:

“Paul Newman’s half-Jewish, Goldie Hawn’s half too; put them together–what a fine-lookin’ Jew!”

Given his comedic talents, it shouldn’t be too difficult for Mr. Sandler to unite Jewish celebrities with famous Mayflower pilgrims in a holiday song. It’s true that “David Lee Roth lights the menorah,” but did you know Myles Standish had a temper “like a chimney soon fired?” The only logistic left is to figure out what rhymes with Thanksgivukkah…

Instead of Mashed Potatoes, Your Guests Will Swoon over Latkes: Oy, is this is a food match made in heaven! Perhaps you prefer your Thanksgiving starch as the yellow-orange of candied sweet potatoes. Some purists salivate at the sight of a creamy, off-white mountain of mashed Russet spuds glistening with melted butter. But guess what? You can use either type of pomme de terre for frying up some tasty potato latkes.

For those of you who’ve never sampled the Jewish version of potato pancakes, give this traditional recipe a try. If you really want to make an impression during your Thanksgivukkah meal, use your culinary skills to construct one large, turkey-shaped latke (some would call this a lopsided potato kugel). It’s either this, or grate and deep-fry the turkey…

Play the “I’m Grateful For…” Game Dreidel-Style: During my family’s Thanksgiving marathon of tryptophan and home-made stuffing, we allow each person sitting at either table (the “adult” table versus the “I don’t pay a mortgage yet” table) their 15 seconds of fame. We each get a turn to say what we’re grateful for in our lives. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

This year, spice up the collective gratitude by having your family members spin the traditional Hanukkah dreidel to determine how many things they can say they’ve been grateful for in 2013. If your dreidel lands on the nun side, there’s always Thanksgivukkah 2070…

Forget Football This Year – Go Long with a Jewish Film Festival: Instead of watching endless football games on Thanksgiving, there are two movie paths to choose from regarding the Festival of Lights. (Please note: This is my blatantly subjective opinion.)

For a mostly enjoyable night of show tunes (with a dollop of drama), pop in or stream Norman Jewison’s 1971 classic, Fiddler on the Roof. (Nope, Mr. Jewison doesn’t qualify for “The Chanukah Song.”)

To distract yourself from the discomfort of a too-rich Thanksgiving meal, the more serious choice would be Steven Spielberg’s mesmerizing Schindler’s List. And don’t forget to light the menorah’s second-night candles! For the adventurous, it’s not too late to invest in your very own Menurkey.

If you’re Jewish, how do you feel about Thanksgiving and Hanukkah wallowing in cohabitation this year? If you’re not Jewish, is your curiosity piqued at all regarding Hanukkah? Remember, the next Thanksgivukkah won’t blaze a trail of turkey, green-bean casserole and latkes for another 57 years, so revel in it while you can. (Gee, we only need to wait 48 more years to see Halley’s Comet again in 2061.) Pass the gefilturkey and cranberry-tzimmes sauce, please, and save room for some yummy pumpkin rugelach. Happy Thanksgivukkah, gentle readers!

Lori Shapiro is the owner of By All Writes LLC, a business-to-business (B2B) writing, editing, and research company in Marlton, New Jersey. She revels in shielding her clients from the pain of writing their own print and web marketing copy. Call her (856-810-9764) or email her (lori@byallwrites.biz) for a no-obligation project quote today!