Celebrities Who Celebrate Both Hanukkah And Christmas
During the months of November and December, celebrities — just like regular folks — are pulling out all the stops celebrating their respective holidays. For some, that means huge trees, blinged out stockings, Santa paraphernalia, and other décor. For others, it is menorahs, dreidels, and a platter of oily latkes. And for a smaller portion of celebrities, like the ones on our list, it is a blend of both. Since Jews are well represented in Hollywood, per the Los Angeles Times, there are far more interfaith marriages there — or at least Jewish/Christian marriages — than we might statistically see elsewhere. After all, Jews make up only 2.4 percent of all American adults, per PEW data from 2020.
Celebrating multiple holidays can be stressful, but there is also a lot of joy that comes with both Hanukkah and Christmas. The foods are different, the traditions are different, and the activities are different, which simply means more variety and more fun, especially for kids. And thanks to social media, we are not just privy to much of our favorite celebrities' holiday bliss, but we even have photo evidence. Here are a selection of celebrities who are known to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, either because they are mixed faith or because their kids are. Happy Chrismukkah, as Seth Cohen (of the "OC") might say!
Busy Philipps embraces her ex's traditions
Busy Philipps may have split from her husband, screenwriter Marc Silverstein, in February 2021, but that does not mean she threw all of their shared traditions out the window. As a Jew, Silverstein celebrates Hanukkah, which Philipps appears to have adopted during their marriage and beyond. At the beginning of Hanukkah 2022, Philipps made an Instagram post highlighting a homemade menorah. The mushroom-themed menorah was on a table in front of tiny Christmas tree decorations. "I finished my menorah just in time — let's pray I don't burn my eye with Latke oil again," she wrote.
In addition to Hanukkah, Philipps is a fan of Christmas, and we know this from more than just her tiny table décor. She also referenced a Christmas dress in her post and has made other updates about the holiday over the year. For example, in December 2021, she posted a close-up photo of a pro-choice ornament on her tree, and a couple of days before, another photo of her daughter holding up an ornament from when she was a baby. That same Christmas, she told Us Weekly that she had accidentally sent her Christmas elves to storage while dealing with construction, and professed her adoration for Snowbabies. "They are, like, little porcelain figurines. And they look like these little babies wearing white snowsuits and they have wings and they do different things," she explained. "My mom, I think, legitimately has 300 Snowbabies and turns my parents' house into a Winter Wonderland."
Drew Barrymore's kids are half-Jewish
Drew Barrymore did not grow up celebrating Jewish holidays, but she has made it a point to honor her children's mixed-faith heritage. Barrymore started dating Will Kopelman in 2011, and the pair married in 2012. Barrymore was pregnant with their first child at the time, and they then went on to have a second daughter before divorcing in 2016. "This year, we'll celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah, because Will's Jewish so our daughters are half-Jewish," Barrymore told Closer in 2014, before the split. "We're doing Elf on the Shelf and Mensch on a Bench!"
Though they are not together, the couple remains on great terms, and Barrymore is reportedly a huge fan of Kopelman's new wife, Alexandra Michler. And even after her divorce, Barrymore continues to celebrate Hanukkah with her daughters. She noted this on her talk show, "The Drew Barrymore Show," when she shared her favorite wall-hanging menorah in December 2021. Barrymore also celebrates Christmas — though she has made the news for her unconventional tradition of not giving her kids gifts. "I always take them on a trip every Christmas. I don't get them presents, which I think at their ages they don't love, but I say, 'I think we'll remember the place and the photos and the experience and that's what I want to give you,'" she told Entertainment Tonight in December 2022.
Chelsea Clinton's tweets reveal dual holidays
Chelsea Clinton has always been one of the most discussed presidential daughters — she was even lampooned on "Saturday Night Live" as a teenager — and as an adult, she has been able to take her fame and become a powerful voice in terms of advocacy for public health, climate change, and other issues she cares about. She has an especially large Twitter following — 2.8 million followers and counting, as of December 2022 — and it is there that she has given hints about how her family celebrates the winter holidays. "I am on my way home to light candles with my family. Happy Hanukkah!" she tweeted in response to another user in December 2017.
Clinton celebrates Hanukkah because her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, is Jewish, but the family also celebrates Christmas to honor Clinton's religion. In December 2019, Clinton tweeted out a photo of an ornament with the names of all five members of her family (the couple has three kids) alongside a message that read, "Merry Christmas from our family to yours!" It is also normal for the family to spend Christmas with Clinton's parents, Bill and Hillary. "We always go down on Christmas Eve, spend the night and have Christmas Day with them," Bill told People in 2021 when discussing his plans to travel to New York City from Chappaqua, New York. "And I think it's the right thing to do, intergenerationally. And then we normally go to the train display at the Bronx Zoo. It's great."
Lance Bass celebrates Chrismukkah
Lance Bass grew up just about as far from Judaism as one can get. He comes from a family of Southern Baptists, which very much impacted his life trajectory and acceptance of himself as a gay man. And though he is no longer part of that particular denomination, Bass revealed that he remains a Christian but is open to all religions. "I have my own personal relationship with my religion, and it really has nothing to do with any group of people," he said. His embrace of other religions certainly must have come in handy when Bass married Michael Turchin, who was raised Jewish, per The New York Times.
Now that they have twins, Bass and Turchin have ensured that their children follow Hanukkah traditions, like lighting a menorah, which Bass documented on Instagram in December 2022. In fact, Bass is so interested in the holiday that his production team is even making a Hanukkah-themed romantic comedy film based upon the novel "The Matzah Ball." In addition to celebrating the festival of lights, Bass and Turchin also keep in the Christmas spirit. "The great thing about my husband is he knows how much of a Christmas freak I am and he lets me do whatever I want, which is very nice," Bass said. "I throw in some Jewish things throughout the Christmas decorations too, we do Chrismukkah here, so you're gonna see menorahs and all that type of stuff all over the place."
Tiffany Haddish discovered Judaism later in life
Tiffany Haddish has had a much-publicized reckoning with her Jewish roots and has gone full throttle in her embrace of Jewish culture and its traditions. It was not until adulthood that Haddish really investigated this part of her heritage, after finding out about it from a DNA test, which then led her to begin taking Hebrew and Torah lessons. Haddish released her comedy special "Black Mitzvah" on the same date that she had her own bat mitzvah ceremony, which also happened to be her 40th birthday. Representations of Black Jews are rare, and Haddish's embrace of the religion of her ancestors was important in terms of minoritized depictions.
As with any new endeavor, becoming a practicing Jew has its learning curve. Case in point: When Haddish posted her menorah on Instagram in 2019, many were quick to correct the number of candles she had lit, as she had forgotten the shamash. "Thank you to my Jewish sisters and brothers on teaching me! For years I have been lighting the extra candle on the last day," she said in her repost. "That's what happens when you teaching yourself or hanging with other that are like just as long as we lit we good." Because her mother was a Jehovah's Witness, Haddish did not celebrate any holidays in her earliest years, as she explained during an appearance on "The Tonight Show." The family had one Christmas tree when she was 7, but it seems like that is about it.
Pink and Carey Hart mix their traditions
Pink and Carey Hart met in 2001 and married in 2006. Though they have broken up a couple of times, things appear to be on solid footing nowadays. The couple have two children and are raising them in both Judaism and Christianity. Pink has spoken about identifying as Jewish numerous times over the years, so it is not surprising that her family celebrates Hanukkah each winter. She has posted photos of menorahs on social media — like this one on Instagram in 2019 — and even posted a video of her and her daughter singing the Hanukkah blessing.
The family also celebrates Christmas, which is something Pink has said she did as a child, per an Instagram post she made in 2019. "This year ... go: my kids are almost 3 and 8, and I feel very very lucky to be with them and to watch them grow, that is all I asked Santa for this year. I can't wait to see their faces tomorrow morning when I tell them Santa only left presents for me," she joked in the post, which was accompanied by a photo of their decorated tree. Pink also posted a tree photo in 2022 and, in typical Pink fashion, it was anything but traditional — in the picture, the singer is carrying a giant tree horizontally all by herself. Speaking of non-traditional, Pink said that in her house during the holidays, everyone is on roller skates.
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are another interfaith couple
Mila Kunis has made it no secret that she is a Jew who emigrated from what is now the Ukraine when she was only a child. "My whole family was in the Holocaust. My grandparents passed and not many survived. After the Holocaust, in Russia you were not allowed to be religious," she once explained in an interview with The Sun. "So my parents raised me to know I was Jewish. You know who you are inside ... When I was in school you would still see anti-Semitic signs." Kunis has passed down her heritage by way of traditions like shabbat and Hanukkah.
Though she has a strong Jewish identity, Kunis actually started celebrating Christmas long before she married and had children with her Christian husband Ashton Kutcher. While promoting "A Bad Moms Christmas" in 2017, Kunis told "Entertainment Tonight" that it was upon her arrival in America at age 7 that she first realized the allure of Christmas. "Whether it's Easter, which we've now all accepted into our Jewish household, or Christmas, it doesn't matter. It's all family time, but having kids, we're building up our own little versions of tradition," she said. Another tradition? Giving the kids only one gift, which Kunis discussed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in 2017.
Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson made holiday music
"Hamilton" star Leslie Odom Jr. is a gifted actor and singer who has put his talents to good use by blessing the world with holiday music to jam to while they eat way too many cookies and try not to fight with their relatives. The 2020 album, entitled "The Christmas Album" has a bunch of the usual suspects, from "O Holy Night" to "Last Christmas," as well as some original Christmas songs. There is also a very special Hanukkah duet, called "Ma'oz Tzur," which Odom recorded with his wife, fellow Broadway actor Nicolette Robinson. "My parents were always great at empowering me to be proud of who I am," Robinson told Broadway Direct. "We celebrated Christian and Jewish holidays, and I got an understanding of both sides of my background. I feel really grateful for that."
Odom and Robinson got married in 2012 and have two children together. While Odom is clearly very into Christmas, Robinson is mixed faith and even has a rabbi as a grandparent, per Broadway Direct. They are raising their children in both of their faiths, and Odom has spoken to the commonalities between the religions and their beliefs. "My spiritual practice includes prayer and meditation. I walk with God. I would consider myself Christian, but my wife is Jewish," he told New York Theatre in 2015. "The thing that is common in all the religions is a loving, divine presence. Part of spiritual practice is also having great friends, nurturing great relationships."
Goldie Hawn's kids celebrate it all
Goldie Hawn is a famous Jew — so famous that she is even namechecked in Adam Sandler's iconic "Hanukkah Song." Though it is technically just her mom's side that is Jewish, the presence of Hawn's mother in their household had a deep impact on her daughter, Kate Hudson. ""My grandmother is Jewish — was Jewish," Hudson said to Vogue. "Of all the religions that I am made up of, Judaism was the one I knew the most because she lived with us and she was very religious. She lit candles every Friday and put a napkin on her head." While Hudson's brothers Oliver Hudson and Russell Wyatt have been less vocal about Judaism, Oliver once went on the "Rachael Ray Show" and admitted that, "Holidays for us is just about, honestly, drinking and partying and having the best time."
Even though both Hawn and at least one of her kids strongly identify with the Jewish faith, they also still love Christmas. In fact, Hawn and partner Kurt Russell appeared in a 2018 Christmas movie "The Christmas Chronicles" and its 2020 sequel, both for Netflix. In December 2022, Kate spoke about how excited she was for her oldest son, Ryder, to return from college. "This Christmas is like, it's a thing. The fact that Ryder's coming home, it's his first time coming home. Even the cousins, because we do big Christmases and we're all together," she said on "Late Night with Seth Meyers."
Ginnifer Goodwin is a Jew who does Christmas
In December 2017, Ginnifer Goodwin was spotted out and about in Los Angeles wearing a very festive red and green holiday sweater, with a cute dinosaur named "Tree Rex" on it. While one might infer that Goodwin was a Christmas die-hard, she is actually an observant Jew. Nonetheless, she and husband Josh Dallas are known to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas with their two young sons. Dallas has posted a number of Christmas messages on Instagram over the years, including a cute mistletoe one with Goodwin in 2021, and one in a Christmas hat and reindeer shirt in 2020.
In a speech given at Temple Israel in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, in 2013, Goodwin discussed having grown up with a strong religious connection, letting that lapse for a decade, and then coming back to Judaism by choice. In the speech, she also discussed wanting her future children to be raised Jewish. Though she has shared Instagram images of her Christmas tree as recently as December 2022, we have reason to believe she is still practicing Judaism. For instance, the couple were married by a rabbi in a Jewish ceremony when they wed in 2014, according to an appearance she made on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (as captured by The Times of Israel).
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones embraced his roots
According to an interview he did with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Michael Douglas was born to a Jewish father (the famous Kirk Douglas) and a non-Jewish mother, which he felt disqualified him from being truly Jewish for a good part of his life, given that traditional Jewish law dictates that Judaism is of matrilineal descent. Per Jewish Boston, more liberal Jewish movements now accept any person born to a Jewish parent as Jewish by birth, but it was not until Douglas had kids that he told the JTA he fully connected to his religious identity.
Not only did Douglas and Zeta-Jones travel to Israel for son Dylan's bar mitzvah, but they have similarly visited synagogues in other locations, such as a famous one in Istanbul in 2020. They have also raised both their kids as Jews, according to an interview Zeta-Jones did with The Telegraph. Dylan attended Hebrew school and wears a Star of David on his neck. But they still sprinkle in some Christmas, as evidenced by Zeta-Jones' Christmas tree she showcased on Access Hollywood, inspired by the series "Wednesday," in which she stars. Zeta-Jones also told Kelly Clarkson that she would love to do a Christmas album together. We say, let's make it happen!
Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott blended families and religions
When Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott got together back in 2005, their coupling was marred by controversy. They were, after all, both married at the time. And though they have remained tabloid (and sometimes reality TV) fixtures in the years since, and despite the relatively consistent rumors of their marital issues, there does seem to be a genuine love there. The pair married in 2006 and had their first child in 2007. They have since had four more and are also close to McDermott's son from his first marriage, Jack. In addition to blending their families — which also includes Jack's maternal half-sister, who is living with them — Spelling and McDermott also blended religions.
Spelling is the daughter of famed television producer Aaron Spelling and was raised in a Jewish household, according to an interview her brother Randy did with Arizona Jewish Life. One glance at her social media confirms that Spelling has kept Jewish traditions central in raising her own children. She has posted, amongst other things, her baby in a yarmulke at a Passover seder, a kid playing with a dreidel, and a menorah surrounded by challah and chocolate gold coins, called "gelt" in Hebrew and Yiddish. At the same time, Spelling has also made it clear that the clan celebrates Christmas, sharing both their tree and décor (via Instagram) and their annual holiday card in 2022.
Drake is famously mixed faith
In 2014, Rolling Stone called Drake "the biggest Jewish rapper since the Beastie Boys" and referenced his 1999 bar mitzvah ceremony in the next sentence. So, yeah, you could say that religion has become a part of Drake's brand. He did a bar mitzvah skit when he hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 2014, used footage from a family friend's bar mitzvah and "re-bar mitzvahed" himself in his "HYFR (Hell Ya F**king Right)" music video, and even performed at someone else's bat mitzvah in 2016. It makes sense, then, that Drake would celebrate the Jewish holidays. He has been seen posing with dreidels and latkes — two Hanukkah staples — as well as with a gold menorah and other religious gear, per Ca Fleure Bon.
Drake screams Judaism so loudly that The New York Times even posted an article titled "Looking for a Menorah Drake Would Own" while advertising stylish, unique menorahs in December 2022. But that is not to say that he does not embrace Christmas just because he was raised largely by his Jewish mother. Drake's father's religion also left a mark on the rapper, who has started to celebrate Christmas with his own son. According to Jam'n 107.5, Drake erected a 108-foot Christmas tree outside his Toronto home (photo evidence can be found on Instagram).
Chelsea Handler is a Jew with a Christmas tree
If you have consumed a lot of Chelsea Handler's content, whether it be her books or her comedy shows/specials or her talk show, "Chelsea Lately," chances are that you are familiar with her background as the child of a Mormon and a Jew. In a conversation with author Judy Blume at the 2020 MAKERS conference, Handler expressed how conflicted she was about religion in her early life, while admitting that she ultimately chose Judaism as her path. "At that time, I just found out my mom was Mormon, on top of thinking she was Jewish, and your books were such a reprieve for me and such a joy," she said.
Not only has she used it for plenty of comedic fodder, but Handler has also integrated both of these aspects into her overall holiday practices. Though she has said she does not identify as Mormon, she still celebrates Christmas. For example, in 2015, she posted a photo of herself with two of her dogs in front of her tree on Facebook. Hanukkah might still reign supreme for the star, however, since she makes far more references to the holiday on social media. In 2021, she posted an Instagram video about Hanukkah baking and the year before, a NSFW photo with a joke about her "Hanukkah bush."
Casey Wilson and her husband do both holidays
"Happy Endings" and "The Shrink Next Door" actor Casey Wilson goes all out for Christmas. If you need proof, look no further than her November 2022 Instagram post, which contained a gallery of photos highlighting a whole lot of trees and holiday décor. "This thanksgiving I'm feeling deeply thankful that I've had my Christmas tree, hero tree, bedroom tree, 'fun tree', outdoor lights, creepy Santa's and Christmas decorations up since Nov 8th. Merry merry!," she wrote. Wilson has also talked about her love of Christmas extensively on her podcast, "B***h Sesh."
Wilson is married to David Caspe, the creator of "Happy Endings," whom she met on set in 2011. Since Caspe is Jewish, they had a traditional Jewish wedding when they got married in Ojai, California, in 2014. That is also around the time Wilson began integrating Hanukkah into her holiday celebrations. [My husband and Marry Me creator David Caspe] is Jewish, so we're experimenting with a hybrid of the two holidays," she told People later that year. The couple now has two sons, and Wilson and Caspe are raising them to know traditions from both sides of their family. She has also been speaking out about the growing antisemitic sentiments in our culture, which she has done on both Instagram and her podcast.