What is happening today in America is a prime example of how different cultures can indeed be meshed together.  Today it is not only Thanksgiving but also the first day of Hanukkah.  It is known as Thanksgivukkah.  This is a once in a lifetime celebration because the last time the first day of Hanukkah occurred on Thanksgiving Day was in 1888.  According to some sources, this will not happen again for another 70,000 years!  Even for any days of Hanukkah to coincide with Thanksgiving is still extremely rare!  It is so rare because the Thanksgiving Holiday is part of the Gregorian (western) calendar and Hanukkah is part of the lunisolar Hebrew calendar, which is similar to the Chinese calendar.

Therefore, many Jews in the US are cooking their Hanukkah and Thanksgiving feast by combining many of the traditional Hanukkah and Thanksgiving dishes together.  Traditional Thanksgiving dishes include not only turkey and corn stuffing, but also pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pecan pie, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes.  Traditional Hanukkah dishes include potato latkes, apple sauce, rugelaches, and kugel.  Many American Jews are creating “meshed” dishes by cooking pumpkin kugel, pecan rugelaches, pumpkin challah, sweet potato latkes, cranberry apple sauce, and challah-apple stuffing.  While I have not yet cooked any of these dishes, I am hoping to cook some in the next few weeks because they all sound absolutely delicious.  I am having a Thanksgivukkah feast with my family’s friends, and so, whatever they will serve will be a surprise!  I’ll let you know after tonight what I end up eating!

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