Friday, November 29, 2013

Thanksgivingukkah: A Once In Every 70,000 Year Holiday?



Even though it was just a fluke that in 2013 Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah fell on the same day, does this quirky coincidence make it a new American holiday? 

By: Ringo Bones 

Thanksgivingukkah has now been all the rage as of late, but does it qualify as a bona-fide American holiday? The legendary boxing promoter Don King could be making his iconic “only in America” speeches about the birth of this holiday. But the truth is – the extraordinary similarity between the two seemingly disparate holidays could astound everyone not yet in the know. 

In truth, both the American Thanksgiving and Hanukkah were born in times of civil war. The origins Hanukkah was born out of the Maccabean Revolt of 167 to 160 BC – which is a “civil war” of sorts between occupying Syrian tribes and Hebrews on what is now the state of Israel. While the “salient theme” of the American Thanksgiving dates back to the Pilgrims sitting down with a banquet with the Native American tribes that they became first acquainted with, it wasn’t until the then US President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as the official American Thanksgiving Holiday at the height of the American Civil War back in 1863. But should American’s this day and age combine the two just because both fall on the same day? 

At least it happens only once in every 70,000 years or so and if we continue using the Gregorian Calendar for the next upcoming millenniums, it is safe to say that Thanksgivingukkha will be celebrated again. Well, it’s only a once in every 70,000 year holiday making it around a thousand times less likely to occur in comparison to the once in every 76-year return of the Halley’s Comet.