Chrismukkah is a pop-culture portmanteau neologism referring to the merging of the holidays of Christianity's Christmas and Judaism's Hanukkah. It first arose in the German-speaking countries within middle-class Jews of the 19th century. After World War II, Chrismukkah became particularly popular in the United States, but is also celebrated in other countries. The term was popularized beginning in December 2003 by the TV drama The O.C., wherein character Seth Cohen creates the holiday to signify his upbringing in an interfaith household with a Jewish father and Protestant mother. The holiday can also be adopted by all-Jewish households who celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday. History The proximity of the beginning of the Hanukkah festival on the 25th of Kislev (end of November/December) to Christmas led to the so-called "December Dilemma" for Jewish families living in societies that were largely Christian. The history of an informal merger between Hanukkah and Christmas dates back to 19th century Germany and Austria. In German it is called Weihnukka, a combination of the words "Weihnachten" (Christmas) and "Hanukkah". In the 19th century, Christmas had established itself in the German-speaking countries as a festival in which, in addition to the spiritual significance, values such as family and charity were in the foreground. Christmas customs such as the Christmas tree, Christmas decorations, gifts or Christmas dinner were perceived more as a seasonal than a strictly Christian tradition. The proximity of the beginning of the Hanukkah festival to Christmas and the adoption of various traditions such as a decorated tree or gifts led to a mixture of traditions that were referred to as Weihnukka at the time. Modern Jewish families in particular adopted elements of the Christmas tradition in the Hanukkah festival. For example, Hanukkah gifts or money became common in the 19th century. Many families from the assimilated German-Jewish bourgeoisie celebrated Christmas directly as a purely secular winter festival. The first historically documented Christmas tree was erected in Vienna in 1814 by the Jewish socialite Fanny von Arnstein, who had brought this custom from Berlin. The founder of Zionism Theodor Herzl also celebrated Christmas or at least allowed a tree to be set up in his house for his children and suggested the name "Hanukkah Tree". Common elements of this secular Christmas festival and its influence on the Hanukkah festival among Jews were a Hanukkah tree or Hanukkah bush as a counterpart to the Christmas tree, the