45 - Y/N L/N

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December 24, 1944
Christmas Eve
The Ardennes, Belgium, Luxembourg

I stood near the Christmas tree we had put together, admiring it and watching a soldier tie the last of the empty c-ration cans to it as ornaments. A soldier had even managed to cut a star out of a can to place on top of the tree. To someone back home, it might not look great, but it's special to us because it gives us a sense of holiday spirit even though we aren't able to be with our families. In a way, we are with family because being with the soldiers you fight alongside and have gotten to know very well is like being with your second family.

I had received a letter from my mother a couple of days ago, but I couldn't find the courage to open it. It's days like today, days where you're supposed to be with your family, that make me feel really homesick. As I looked at our Christmas tree, I imagined what my family would be up to.

It would soon be morning back home, but I imagined my parents telling my little brother the night before that if he didn't go to sleep, then Santa Claus wouldn't bring him his gifts. He probably tossed and turned from excitement until he eventually dozed off. Since I'm not home, my mother most likely sent my father instead to check if my brother was asleep while she quickly grabbed his gifts from the attic. I smiled to myself imagining my parents placing the gifts under the Christmas tree.

The thought of their Christmas dinner popped into my head and my smile disappeared. This year would make it the second year I wouldn't be at the table with them for Christmas dinner. I wonder how they must've felt last Christmas when they probably hadn't received my letter explaining where I had gone off to yet. I'm sure they were worried, but it also must have been odd, especially for my parents, to have an empty chair at the dinner table that they were used to seeing me sit on, but I'm sure there are other things that haven't felt the same since I left.

Will the war continue on through 1945? Will I be gone once again from the dinner table next year? Or will I end up dead on European soil? Who knows, but I really hope this world can find some peace soon.

"Oh, there you are!" I heard Zussman say from behind me. I turned around to see him walking towards me with two canteens in his hands. He was grinning at first, but then his grin disappeared and he looked concerned once he got closer to me. "Why the long face on Christmas Eve? You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. With it being Christmas time, I'm just really missing home," I answered as I brushed snow that had begun to pile up on the sleeves of my overcoat due to the light snowfall occurring. He then handed me my canteen and I thanked him. The warmth coming from the coffee inside my canteen felt nice as I held it in my hands.

"Same here. My family doesn't celebrate Christmas though. We've always celebrated Hanukkah*, but now that I think about it, both of the holidays are sort of similar. Growin' up, my parents would give me gifts and my Ma' would make a good meal for us, but the most important part of it all was that we were together. I'd say that's an important part of Christmas too, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, it definitely is. To know my family and myself lived to see another year is something I always take a moment to be thankful for around this time."

"I like the way you think." He placed his arm around my waist as we both looked at the Christmas tree in front of us.

"If you don't mind, could you tell me more about Hanukkah? I don't know much about it," I said.

"Yeah, of course. For one thing, my family never had one of these in our home." He gestured towards the Christmas tree. He then got down on one knee and began to draw something in the snow with his finger. I leaned down next to him and examined his drawing. "What we do have in our home is a menorah*. It's basically one of those candle holders but it holds eight candles. That's because unlike Christmas, Hanukkah lasts eight days and on each of the eight nights of the holiday, we light a new candle. I remember I would beg my Ma' to let me light the candles. She was hesitant 'cause she didn't trust my kid self with fire, but she would always give in eventually and it sure made me happy."

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