On Tuesday evening the Binghamton Association for Mixed Students celebrated “Chrismahanukwanzakah” and treated students to a holiday party.

Chrismahanukwanzakah is a winter event that BAMS organizes during the holiday season for its members, newcomers and any interested students.

“Since we’re a mixed (group) we can’t just have one holiday party,” said Jasmine Sawers, publicity chair of BAMS. “We wanted to do something that a lot of people can celebrate.”

Chrismahanukwanzakah is the latest in a string of non-traditional December holidays, such as Chrismukkah and Seinfeld’s Festivus, aimed at an all-inclusive secular celebration of the season.

According to ABC News, Virgin Mobil, the company who recently popularized the alternative holiday through their new advertising campaign, has declared Dec. 13 Chrismahanukwanzakah, a day devoted to “everything people love about the holidays.”

The advertising campaign includes the website www.chrismahanukwanzakah.com, sponsored by Virgin Mobil, which features holiday songs such as “Silent Chrismahanukwanzaka Night” and “My Chrismahanukwanzaka Dreidel” sung by characters featured in the tv commercials, like “Hindu Santa,” “The Jews” and “Angel.”

For their celebration, BAMS sought to include elements from the three holidays which give Chrismahanukwanzaka its name: Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanza.

Organizers prepared traditional dishes that are usually served for the three different holidays. Coconut curry chicken, latkas, rice, macaroni pie and cookies are a few of the dishes offered to students.

Although BAMS usually discusses serious issues that affect mixed students during their meetings, this time students were able to engage in private conversations without being led by a group discussion.

Sawers said that the BAMS research chair gathered a lot of information on different holidays and was planning to talk about them during the meeting, but decided against it. Sawers added that it was BAMS’s last meeting for the fall semester and the members just wanted to mingle and enjoy the food.

Students didn’t mind the change of plans and looked happy to enjoy each other’s company.

“We’re always trying to look for new members,” Sawers said. “Offering free food really gets people interested in BAMS and we’re trying to make (Chrismachanukkwanzakaha) something that BAMS always does.”