Thanksgivukkah 2013: when Jewish holiday and American home-based day of feasting coincide

from WSJ -- Wall Street Journal article http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304176904579112022682954300 ________________________________________ To the dismay of traditionalists, the holiday season seems to shift earlier every year, with retailers selling Christmas decorations well before Halloween. But this year, the season will get a legitimate jump-start of sorts—at least for millions of American Jews. In other words, make way for Thanksgivukkah. In a rare convergence of the calendar, Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights that typically commences close to Christmas, fall on the same date in 2013: Nov. 28. And Thanksgivukkah has become a bold platform for expression, with creations ranging from sweet-potato latkes to the "Menurkey." Nine-year-old Asher Weintraub was inspired by this year's rare confluence of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving. His invention? The Menurkey, a turkey-shaped menorah. Photo: Keith Bedford. The reason for the fuss: It is a holiday mashup that has happened only once before—in 1888—according to those who track the Jewish calendar. And it is one that isn't set to happen again for potentially another 70,000-plus years. While Hanukkah, which commemorates a Jewish military victory over Greek forces in the second century B.C. and the miracle of a day's worth of lamp oil lasting for eight, is technically a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, it has become increasingly prominent in the past century as part of the broader seasonal push. A few see commercial opportunities in Thanksgivukkah as well. Dana Gitell, a community specialist with Boston-based elder-care provider Hebrew SeniorLife, has started a Thanksgivukkah Facebook page and is promoting a line of Thanksgivukkah commemorative items, including a T-shirt done in a Woodstock rock-festival motif with the catchphrase "8 Days of Light, Liberty and Latkes." (Latkes are the potato pancakes typically served throughout Hanukkah.)