Chanukah's arrival on Christmas Day renews 'Chrismukkah' deliberations for interfaith families

When Sarah Levitin first visited her now-husband’s Catholic family for Christmas, she was not expecting to see a menorah in their home.

It was 2016, and the first night of Chanukah fell on Christmas Eve. Levitin, who grew up attending Jewish day school and traveled to Israel on a Birthright trip, had not planned to light Chanukah candles when she joined her boyfriend’s Sicilian and Polish family for Christmas. But because his family made an effort to include her traditions, she did.

“I was so incredibly moved by that,” Levitin, 32, recalled in an interview. “Even that gesture, in and of itself...