This year, Thanksgiving falls on the first day of Hanukkah, combining to create the very rare holiday of Thanksgivukkah – at least that’s what popular media is calling it.

According to an analysis done by physicist Jonathan Mizrahi this won’t happen again for another 70,000 years!!!

The festivals might seem completely different but actually both are holidays of gratitude after facing adversity.

Hanukkah, of course, is a Jewish holiday. Known as the Festival of Lights, the eight-day celebration commemorates a Jewish military victory and the miracle of oil that lasted eight days when it should have lasted one. The Jewish people were thankful that their conflict with Greco-Syrian foes was at an end, and today Hanukkah is a fine time to be grateful for religious freedom.

Thanksgiving commemorates a harvest feast among Indians and Pilgrims that happened almost 400 years ago. While that might seem secular, those Pilgrims never would have been breaking bread with those Indians if they hadn’t first broken from the Church of England—and fled Europe in search of religious freedom.  Thanksgiving started as an appreciation of a bountiful harvest and has morphed into a day when people count all their blessings.

Hanukkah and Thanksgiving were both started by people who found a haven in the U.S. and have flourished there.  They are still two separate celebrations that happen to fall on the same date.  Whether you chose to call it Thanksgivukkah or not; this day should be a day of gratitude, fun and a unity.  Enjoy it!

Mazel tov!

Related articles

• Happy Thanksgivukkah! Five Things Thanksgiving and Hanukkah Have in Common (newsfeed.time.com)
• Thanksgivukkah 2013 (be-watchful.com)
• This Is The Official Thanksgivukkah Anthem You’ve Been Waiting For (buzzfeed.com)
• 18 Reasons Why Thanksgivukkah Gives Jews The Best Of Both Worlds (elitedaily.com)
• Thanksgivukkah Spawning Menurkeys in Mashup Celebration (bloomberg.com)