The Extravaganza Co-Host/Is In Love With Esther
I have broken one of my sort of cardinal rules. My present for the department gift exchange this afternoon is wrapped in paper that says "Greeting of the Season." I am a dang-ed namby pamby politically correct jerk. But I'll deal with it.

Andrew Siciliano was not happy this morning. I caught him in mid-rant this morning, raving to Van Earl Wright and Krystal Fernandez about something that recently happened on The OC:

---

In Adam Sandler's perennial favorite, "The Chanukah Song," he brags about that holiday's observance of "eight crazy nights."

Apparently, no one ever told him of "Chrismukkah," a newly popularized interfaith holiday that runs a full 18 days, from the start of Hanukkah on Dec. 7 all the way through Christmas Day.

Combining elements of Jewish, Christian and secular traditions, this hybrid reflects the growing trend of interfaith marriages and multicultural families. In the United States today, there are at least 1 million unions between Jews and Christians or other non-Jews. Additionally, rates of inter-faith marriage have increased, from 13 percent of all Jewish marriages before 1970 to 47 percent between 1996 and 2001.

Although the concept has existed for many generations -- as interfaith families struggle to balance traditions -- the formalization of Chrismukkah is a new phenomenon. Aside from a few random references on the Internet during the late '90s, Chrismukkah was relatively unheard of until last year, when Fox's The O.C., in grand Seinfeldian form, pushed it into the cultural consciousness.

Seth Cohen, a character on the hit show, is raised by a Protestant mother and Jewish father and used the term Christmukkah -- like its root, Hanukkah -- to describe his holiday traditions.

Inspired by this episode and their own recent interfaith marriage, Ron and Michelle Gompertz began creating greeting cards featuring matzoh ball snowmen, reindeer with Menorah for antlers and kosher fruitcake.

Operating out of a barn in rural Montana, this creative couple set up a Web site, Chrismukkah.com, to sell their products and post messages from other multicultural families....

Sensitive to other's religious beliefs, the Gompertz's try not to cross the line between secular and religious imagery.

"We realized there were two distinct sides to Christmas. First there is the serious religious holiday celebrated by Christians. Second, there is the highly secularized commercial holiday which everyone can enjoy ... no matter what your faith background," explained Ron.

Additionally, Ron recognizes that there is a difference between humorous and offensive.

"Off limits would be cards depicting serious religious images -- Jesus Christ, a Torah, Christmas Cres or too tacky and stereotypical (things) like pork latkes for a Chrismukkah meal," he said. "Good taste and humor (are) highly subjective, and it's a fine line."...

"Easter and Passover are close on the calendar each spring. During the Passover Sedar, there is a part mostly designed to entertain the young children at the Sedar where we hide the matzoh. Later, the child that finds the hidden matzoh gets a reward or prize. This of course is very similar to the Easter Egg hunt ritual. So there are possibilities. However, I think we'll let someone else try their hand at an 'EasterOver' card line."

---

Siciliano stressed that he didn't have a problem with interfaith families who adopted some type of blended practice. However, Andrew (non-practicing Catholic father, Jewish mother, raised Jewish) does have a problem with Jews who practice Christmas traditions in order to assimilate. While he didn't consider Santa a religious Christmas practice, he did consider the Christmas tree a religious practice.

Siciliano's views are ironic, since Santa Claus is based on a Christian saint, whereas the Christmas tree is based on pagan traditions.

---

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in Patara, a village in what is now Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave.

---

Many Pagan cultures used to cut down evergreen trees in December, moved them into the home or temple and decorated them. 7 Modern-day Pagans still do. This was to recognize the winter solstice -- the time of the year that had the shortest daylight hours, and longest night of the year. This occurs annually sometime between DEC-20 to 23. They noticed that the days were gradually getting shorter; many feared that the sun would eventually disappear forever, and everyone would freeze. But, even though deciduous trees, bushes, and crops died or hibernated for the winter, the evergreen trees remained green. They seemed to have magical powers that enabled them to withstand the rigors of winter.

---