12 non-Christmas episodes for the rest of us
By Sundi Rose
The O.C.: “The Best Chrismukkah Ever“
Seth Cohen charmed everyone in The O.C. with his nerdy enthusiasm and general kookiness. He was the dark horse in the race for the the beautiful and (practically) unattainable Summer Roberts. Yet, despite his underdog status, he really was the star of this teen drama.
He was meant to be the dorky foil for the hunky Ryan, but it’s very hard to beat Adam Brody’s charm. Seth and Ryan lived in a blended family with their Jewish, East-Coast Dad and ultra WASPY, SoCal Mom. When the holidays rolled around, it was a tug of war over which traditions would win the season. This is a timeless struggle for people of varying faiths this time of year. Especially in a time when we’re all rolling around in a grab bag of identities, religion, and ethnicities, Christmas can hog up all our cultural attention.
In true Seth-fashion, he crafted an altogether new tradition that combined his parents’ holiday beliefs and came up with the now famous Chrismukkah. This was the the natural melding of Christmas and Hanukkah, and has since become a pop-culture phenomenon that offers an alternative to choosing between a traditional Christmas season and Hanukkah. It’s the trendiest fake holiday out there.
“The Best Chrismukkah Ever” is the 13th episode of the first season, and you can watch it on Hulu.