The holiday season is creeping up on us — and for some, that can mean a lot of stress, particularly on the subject of religion.

What happens when more than one faith is involved? At Ohio University, the school paper has an interesting look at “bi-religious” families:

Ohio University students Jenna Tricaso and her boyfriend, Max Laird, have created a new holiday, a celebration they call “Chrismakkuh.”

Tricaso, a junior hearing, speech and language science major, is Catholic, and Laird, a senior political science major, is Jewish. The couple will spend winter break commemorating both faiths.

“We are getting a Christmas tree for the apartment, and I’m bringing down a menorah,” Laird said. “We’re going to celebrate both and kind of intertwine them.”

Approximately 28 million U.S. couples that are married or in domestic partnerships live in mixed-religion homes, according to the American Religious Identification Survey done in 2001 by The City University of New York. This is nearly a quarter of all marriages or domestic partnerships.

While many couples make their relationship work, maintaining a bi-religious relationship can be difficult.

“If the partners grew up practicing different religions and continue to strongly identify with their religion, there are going to be some issues they will have to face when living in a committed relationship,” said Dr. Paul Castelino, a psychologist and clinical counselor with OU Counseling and Psychological Services.

He said problems can include attending religious rituals, giving up one’s faith, being rejected by a partner’s family, moving into a community that practices a different faith and raising children in one partner’s faith.

According to a May 2006 study by Scott M. Myers published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, married partners that share the same religious background report greater marital quality than do bi-religious partners.

For Tricaso and Laird, combining two religions hasn’t always been easy. Tricaso grew up in a strict Italian Catholic household, with a father who wanted her to date someone of the same background.

“I never thought I would date somebody that wasn’t my faith,” she said. “When Max and I started talking, I was freaking out about it a lot. Taking the next step was huge for me.”

After initial concerns, the couple moved forward by celebrating both faiths.

“I just think that there’s nothing wrong with bringing more than one religion together if they’re working toward the same objective,” Laird said.

Tricaso chimed in, stating, “Once you learn to respect each other, that’s what makes everything else fall into place.”

Tiana McKenna, a freshman Honors Tutorial College English major, and her partner, Benjamin Toth, haven’t let different beliefs get in the way of a major commitment.

McKenna, an atheist, is engaged to Toth, a Catholic who attends college in Elyria. She said they disagree about certain topics, such as whether to raise their children in a religious background, but always find ways to compromise.

“We work it out like we do any other difference,” McKenna said, adding that in the end they just acknowledge their different opinions.

For Toth, the bi-religious relationship has benefited both partners.

“I’m open to the way she believes things, and we understand one another better because of that,” he said. “That gives us a better scope of understanding of life. It makes us independent.”

The couple’s toughest trial might emerge with the walk down the aisle.

“The wedding issue is going to be a big deal,” McKenna said, explaining that she doesn’t want to be married by a Catholic priest. Toth respects her choice, but his grandparents, who are devout Catholics, might not be willing to forgo the tradition, she said.

The ability of partners to triumph over religious differences can depend on their faiths.

“Some religions are more accepting than others, but I think it really depends on the families’ attitude toward other religions,” said Castelino, a psychologist and clinical counselor.

Kathryn Young, a sophomore English major and a Catholic, knows firsthand how acceptance can impact a relationship.

“I worry a lot about taking my boyfriend to (Catholic) mass because he feels less accepted and less comfortable,” she said.

Her boyfriend, Vijay Welch, is a theater major at Youngstown State and the son of two Methodist ministers. Young feels accepted at Welch’s church, but her traditional Catholic upbringing and standards are unfamiliar to him, she said.

While Welch doesn’t feel as comfortable at Catholic mass, he respects the religion, a value he attributes to his parents’ work as pastors.

“That’s actually why we coexist so peacefully together,” he said.

He and Young also had advice for other bi-religious couples.

“Try to find out more about your partner’s faith,” Young said. “You may not agree with it, but you can see how it has affected their life and personality.”

“It’s all tolerance and respect,” Welch added. “If you respect the other person’s religion or denomination, then that respect will be returned.”