Why Seth Cohen is my kindred holiday spirit

This holiday season, you don’t have to choose. You can take part in the holiday that’s sweeping the nation. Chrismukkah is the glorious intersection of Hanukkah and Christmas from the genius brain of Seth Cohen (or, more accurately, the writers of The O.C.).

There is no set date for Chrismukkah. Sometimes the two holidays overlap, like this year. Regardless of the dates, I consider the whole month of December to be Chrismukkah. It is the greatest super holiday known to mankind, drawing on the best that Christianity and Judaism have to offer.

I grew up celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah, but The O.C. finally gave me a name for it.

My mom is Jewish and had a Bat Mitzvah, and my dad is Catholic and went to a Catholic high school — but neither are very religious. My sister and I weren’t raised religious; we never went to sunday school or learned Hebrew, and we rarely went to church growing up.

We fell in love with Chrismukkah when binging The O.C. together in high school and watch the four Chrismukkah-themed episodes every year around this time.

A menorah and a Christmas tree share the same space at my house. While I always thought it was super cool growing up (more presents, yay!), saying “I celebrate both” isn’t as jazzy as saying “I celebrate Chrismukkah.”

I love to enjoy my favorite Christmas tunes while eating my mom’s amazing latkes and applesauce, or playing dreidel with my sister while “Merry Christmas Charlie Brown” plays in the background.

Seth Cohen reminded me of something when he created his uber holiday: the true magic of Chrismukkah is that you don’t have to choose a menorah or a Christmas tree; you can have both.

Chrismukkah also gives me an excuse to prolong my holiday celebrations, which I’m always on board for. For me, Christmas music starts while cooking Thanksgiving dinner. To me, Thanksgiving is an unnecessary holiday — my favorite time of the year is Chrismukkah season. Just like Seth, I will take any excuse to be festive. I love giving presents almost more than receiving them, I take decorating the tree very seriously, and I’m always making sure everyone around me is feeling the Chrismukkah spirit.

In my family, it’s all about the fun and festivity, just like Seth’s Chrismukkah.

The Cohen household (and my own) is filled with holiday cheer and happiness because Chrismukkah is more about family than anything else.

Everyone’s traditions can be included in a Chrismukkah celebration; it’s a very inclusive holiday.

So, as Seth Cohen would say, “Dip a toe in the Chrismukkah pool. There’s room for all of us.”

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