This gift collection has been specially curated by Tradition's owner, Wendy Gordon. Her inspiration behind the creation of these exclusive gifts was at first the rarity of both the first night of Hanukkah and Christmas Eve falling on the same night and remembered what fun it was creating exclusive gifts back in 2013 when the first day of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving fell on the same night.
After extensive research on the subject, she realized that many families celebrate both holidays and that this was not only a gift idea for 2016, but gifts that interfaith families could enjoy each year when they celebrate the December holidays. Wendy says; "What began as a fun and creative project turned into what I felt was an untapped need in the holiday gift market."
With a deep respect for the religious nature of both Hanukkah and Christmas, Wendy does not recognize Chrismukkah as a holiday because it is solely a made up holiday created from the comedy TV show; The OC. Just as she did not use the coined phrase, "Thanksgivukkah" for the previous Hanukkah/Thanksgiving gift collection, she is not using the phrase, "Chrismukkah" with this collection of gifts.
Wendy feels that it is important for each family to celebrate the holidays as they see fit. "It is not for me to judge how people choose to celebrate their holidays." and she understands that interfaith holiday celebration is a sensitive topic for many people. Wendy wishes for religious tolerance and understanding, no matter how people choose to celebrate their holidays.
Aside from being beautiful and well-crafted - and it is - I was so taken by the notion when I saw the Interfaith Sculptural Tree Menorah in the initial Facebook post that I knew I had to order it for our family. And it had just the intended effect on both my wife and 16 & 20 year old children. For perhaps the first time in our marriage and their young lives, rather than feeling like they have to separate the celebrations of their two parents (even as they identify and are being raised Jewish), my children both got huge smiles on their otherwise teenage-cynical faces and I saw a huge sense of serenity on my wife's face as well. Funny how such a simple item can become a symbol of a life shared. Thank you so much for bringing this item to market!