Thank you again to Seth Cohen of the OC for bringing my holiday traditions into the cultural zeitgeist with one simple word: Christmukkah. As a little kiddo I felt like I had the best of both worlds, despite other people’s sheer confusion and personal issues with the concept of bringing both traditions together. Still to this day I can see the shock on peoples faces when I tell them I celebrate Christmukkah. But is it not representative of what our country is meant to be, a culmination of cultures and customs open to everyone? As one of my college professors said, we are more like a salad bar. We live amongst one another, but tend to stay out in our assigned spots. That is unless a Jewish woman from New York falls for a Puerto Rican from Chicago and the rest is history.[/bigletter]

I’d admit that growing up I didn’t feel I fit into either “lane” of my heritage and it wasn’t always easy. Rather than feeling proud of being both I initially felt more like other. Especially given the fact that my parents divorced when I was young and I was predominantly raised by my mother, distancing me more and more from my Puerto Rican roots. But even while in the company of my father’s warm and vibrant family, I didn’t speak the language, fully embrace the food or have a close relationship with my Dad. But we did celebrate Christmas, as it was perhaps the one thing he and I both understood. He was a Christian and I, an admirer of mainstream American Christmas culture.