"The O.C." Moment: Merry Chrismakkuh!

“Drawing on the best that Christianity and Judaism have to offer,” Chrismakkuh made its debut December 3, 2003.

In one of the show’s patented rapid-fire dialogue opening teasers, “The O.C.” introduced us to Seth’s super holiday that consisted of “eight days of presents followed by one day of many presents.” And if you were one of Seth’s girlfriends, one of those presents would be the Seth Cohen starter pack which consisted of CDs from Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, The Shins, Kavalier and Clay and a DVD of “The Goonies”—because “it’s not just for kids.”

Of course, Ryan wasn’t eager to jump in at first since the holidays brought back bad memories for him, but thanks to a “Chrismakkuh miracle,” Ryan was able to see the light.

Or was the Chrismakkuh miracle Seth’s present of Summer in the Wonder Woman costume?...

Chrismakkuh became an annual tradition for the show, and with the exception of this year, it usually marked the best episode of the season.

In season two, the yarmaclaus (from the Jewish yarmulke) was added to the tradition as the Cohen family brought the holiday to Lindsay, Kirsten’s newly discovered sister (and Ryan’s girlfriend). In season three, to raise money for Marissa’s friend, Johnny, Seth threw a Chrismakkuh Bar Mitzvah-kah for Ryan—which gave Seth the Bar Mitzvah he always wanted (which included the Bar Mitzvah song, “That’s What Friends Are For”). This season, Ryan and Taylor traveled to an alternate universe where Sandy and Julie were married, Kirsten was married to Jimmy, and Summer was engaged to Che (who was sleeping with Julie). They were able to leave when Taylor told off her mom and Ryan said goodbye to Marissa.

I have to say I’m sad that I won’t be celebrating any more Chrismakkuhs with the Cohens. It almost makes me wish I had a half-Jewish family of my own…

Be sure to join me next Thursday for another trip down memory lane. In the meantime, feel free to share your “O.C.” memories by posting a comment…