A remote barn in Livingston, Mont., serves as the worksite for a harmonious holiday quest.
Ron and Michelle Gompertz, an interfaith couple, launched the greeting card company Chrismukkah.com this year for other couples like themselves whose families celebrate both Christmas (search) and Hanukkah (search). There are an estimated 1.7 million married couples nationwide with a Jewish and a Christian partner.
“I’m the ‘Chris’ and he’s the ‘ukkah’ part of the relationship. Our daughter’s 18 months old and once she was born we sort of had to decide how we were going to celebrate the holidays ourselves,” said company owner Michelle Gompertz.
The couple got the idea while watching an episode of FOX’s “The O.C.” in which the term Chrismukkah (search) was coined as a mixture of “the best that Christianity and Judaism have to offer.”
Chrismukkah critics say the struggles some interfaith couples face are underscored by this holiday.
“It’s a sort of surface celebration. It may solve an immediate problem,” said Marc Stern of the American Jewish Congress. “It’s not going to reinforce the loyalty to one faith or the other.”
Others suggest that combining the two holidays will take away from the individual meaning each has to offer.
“There is a concern that our society is continuing to dilute the message of Christiantiy. This is one way to do it,” said Bill Donohue of the Catholic League.
But the Gompertzes argue that Chrismukkah celebrates the secular aspects of the holiday season, which they say anyone can appreciate.
“Is Frosty the Snowman Jewish, Christian? Is he Muslim? What is Rudoplh the Red Nosed Reindeer?” Ron Gompertz asked.
Click in the box near the top of the story to watch a report by FOX News’ Jeff Goldblatt.
