To the dismay of traditionalists, the holiday season seems to shift earlier every year, with retailers selling Christmas decorations well before Halloween. But this year, the season will get a legitimate jump-start of sorts—at least for millions of American Jews.

In other words, make way for Thanksgivukkah.

In a rare convergence of the calendar, Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights that typically commences close to Christmas, fall on the same date in 2013: Nov. 28. And Thanksgivukkah has become a bold platform for expression, with creations ranging from sweet-potato latkes to the "Menurkey."

The reason for the fuss: It is a holiday mashup that has happened only once before—in 1888—according to those who track the Jewish calendar. And it is one that isn't set to happen again for potentially another 70,000-plus years.

While Hanukkah, which commemorates a Jewish military victory over Greek forces in the second century B.C. and the miracle of a day's worth of lamp oil lasting for eight, is technically a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, it has become increasingly prominent in the past century as part of the broader seasonal push.