Interfaith Families Juggle Hanukkah And Christmas Overlap This Season
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With the first night of Hanukkah taking place on Christmas Eve this year, some interfaith families are navigating how to celebrate their holidays together.
Liz Polay-Wettengel with Interfaith Families of Greater Philadelphia said they have inquiries from families asking for guidance this year dealing with the intersection of Hanukkah and Christmas.
"For some people it is a struggle, especially as they overlap this year," Polay-Wettengel said. "You know, where they have typically have gone for Christmas to one side of the family, they now have overlapping holidays which is causing conflict."
But she said it doesn't have to be a conflict, with many interfaith families embracing the overlap with creative solutions.
"Many families are bringing latkes to Christmas, or they're bringing their menorahs to the tree and they're doing it together!"
She said inquiries regarding the overlap of Hanukkah and Christmas are not surprising; she said intermarriage is on the rise in America.
"70% of non-orthodox Jews who have married since the year 2000 have said 'I Do' to a non-Jewish spouse, according to the Pew research center's 2013 study on american Jewry."
