In time for the holidays, The Hollywood Reporter compiled a ranking of Seth Cohen’s hybrid holiday of Christmas and Hanukkah.
Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson and Benjamin McKenzie with Shannon Lucio in ‘The O.C.’ Chrismukkah episodes.
WB/Courtesy Everett Collection (2)
Chrismukkah is upon us.
Back on Dec. 3, 2003, The O.C.’s Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) introduced his own hybrid holiday to adopted brother Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), blending Christmas and Hanukkah to reflect his interfaith family, as his dad Sandy (Peter Gallagher) is Jewish and his mom Kirsten (Kelly Rowan) is Christian.
Seth may not have invented combining the two holidays, but he did give the world a name for what he called “the greatest superholiday known to mankind.” Writer-producer Stephanie Savage told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016 she was surprised by how many viewers already celebrated something similar but lacked a term for it.
Each season’s Chrismukkah episode followed Seth using his superholiday to solve the latest crisis on the Fox drama, resulting in some of the show’s most entertaining and dramatic moments. With Hanukkah underway and Christmas approaching, it’s that time of year to revisit how these episodes stack up.
-
“The Chrismukkah Bar Mitz-vahkkah” (Season 3, Episode 10)
Image Credit: WB/Courtesy Everett Collection The idea of this episode is very fun: Seth wants to throw Ryan a Bar Mitzvah for Chrismukkah, and he even has a new name for it — the “Chrismukkah Bar Mitz-vahkkah.” Even though Ryan isn’t Jewish, they decide to hold the event to raise money to help Marissa’s (Mischa Barton) friend Johnny (Ryan Donowho) afford a surgery. Throughout the episode, Seth’s passion and excitement about teaching Ryan more about Judaism — and bringing him closer to the Cohens — make for some of the series’ most endearing moments. (It even earned a spot on our list of top Seth Cohen moments.)
However, the storyline ends up revolving around Johnny yet again, and Marissa putting him first instead of Ryan was a frustrating focus of season three that is widely agreed upon by fans. It’s also worth noting that after Johnny plans to rob a gas station but is stopped by Ryan (another Chrismukkah miracle), the plotline is dropped entirely. In the end, Seth’s heartwarming efforts aren’t enough to outweigh the exhaustion of the ongoing Johnny storyline.
-
“The Chrismukk-huh?” (Season 4, Episode 7)
Image Credit: Michael Yarish/WB/Courtesy Everett Collection The most unique Chrismukkah episode is “The Chrismukk-huh?,” set in an alternate universe where even the theme song is different (the only time it ever changes). After Ryan and Taylor (Autumn Reeser) fall off a ladder and hit their heads, they wake up in a reality that shows what would’ve happened if Ryan had never come to Newport: Kirsten and Sandy are divorced; Kirsten married Jimmy (Tate Donovan); Sandy is mayor and is with Julie (Melinda Clarke), who’s cheating on him with Ché (Chris Pratt); and Seth and Summer (Rachel Bilson) never dated and are exaggerated versions of their early-season selves.
The most emotional moment comes when Ryan meets Kaitlin (Willa Holland), who reveals Marissa died three years earlier in a Tijuana alley from an overdose — the fate she would’ve met in season one’s “The Escape” if Ryan hadn’t saved her. It’s a jaw-dropping twist, made even more heartbreaking when Ryan discovers Marissa had written him a letter before she died, telling him she loved him but needed to leave Newport so they could both move on — only for the letter to get lost in the mail. This episode nearly ranked higher on the list: it’s creatively written, highlights how crucial Ryan is to everyone’s lives, gives him the closure he needs to let go, and wraps up Marissa’s story as well as the show could at that point. But it isn’t quite as festive as Seth’s ideal Chrismukkah.
-
“The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn’t,” (Season 2, Episode 6)
Image Credit: WB/Courtesy Everett Collection The sophomore season’s festive episode is a strong follow-up to season one, with Seth just as eager to celebrate Chrismukkah and inviting Summer and Marissa to join the Cohens, while Ryan brings his girlfriend Lindsay (Shannon Lucio). The episode’s major twist — revealing that Lindsay is actually Caleb’s (Alan Dale) love child and Kirsten’s half sister — creates one of the most dramatic Chrismukkah moments in the series.
What makes the episode stand out, though, is how the characters react: Seth defends his mother and kicks Caleb out, and when the holiday seems on the verge of falling apart, Summer steps in and brings Chrismukkah to a devastated Lindsay by decorating her home to save the day — must be another Chrismukkah miracle. Her gesture is even more meaningful because she and Seth aren’t dating at this point in their on-again, off-again relationship, which proves their eventual endgame. And while Lindsay remains a minor figure in the overall series, her storyline as Caleb’s daughter is far more entertaining than Johnny’s arc in season three. Oh, and she gave us Yamaclauses!
-
“The Best Chrismukkah Ever” (Season 1, Episode 13)
Image Credit: Courtesy Season one’s “The Best Chrismukkah Ever” easily takes the top spot, introducing Cohen’s “invented” holiday with Seth assuring Ryan he doesn’t have to choose between Christmas and Hanukkah in the Cohen household because they celebrate “Chrismukkah,” which is soon to be “sweeping the nation.” In addition to Seth’s over-the-top festiveness, the episode is packed with moments — Summer’s Wonder Woman costume gift, Marissa’s Chanel dress that Mischa Barton still has today, and the Seth–Anna (Samaire Armstrong)-Summer love triangle hitting its breaking point — while delivering plenty of drama.
After Marissa is caught shoplifting and later gets drunk at Caleb’s party, she nearly gets Ryan in trouble when she rides home with an open container in his car, a close call that pushes her to realize she needs help. Ryan getting off scot-free becomes the show’s first true Chrismukkah miracle — or, as Cohen might say, maybe he just had Jesus and Moses working for him.
