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.
