December 22nd: Traditions

Sarge looked around him and sighed.

"Somethin' botherin' you, man?" Fillmore questioned.

The Jeep shook his hood. "It's nothing."

Fillmore smiled. "That sigh didn't sound like nothing to me. C'mon, man! Why can't you talk about your feelings?"

Sarge sighed. "It's nothing important. It's just... This isn't like the Christmas I remember when I was younger. I mean, with the artificial tree, the candy canes, the TV..." He waved a tyre dismissively at the television where some of the café's patrons were watching The Polar Express, only currently on the screen was a commercial for Bumper Save's biggest ever Christmas sale. "It's coming up to fifty years since my old man kicked the bucket and I guess I was just remembering when we used to chop down our own tree (we'd hike for hours, trying to find the best one; they're some of my best memories with him), roast chestnuts, drink eggnog..."

"There you go, Sarge!" Fillmore declared, satisfied. "I always knew you had feelings."

Sarge gave him a Look.

Luigi actually had something a little more helpful to say. "I know how you feel, Sarge. I do. This is not the Christmas I remember either. When I lived in Italy, the whole famiglia would go to midnight mass. It was so exciting, staying up so late, knowing it was officially Christmas, and the church was beautiful! I remember one year, when I was about nine or ten, we came out of the church and saw that it was snowing. Guido, my brothers and sisters and I played in the snow for hours."

Guido smiled at the memory too.

"I used to go to midnight mass too", Ramone spoke up.

"So did I", Flo contributed. "I was in my church's choir, so I'd always be performin' on Christmas Eve."

"Back in Thomasville, none of us really knew how to cook", Doc joined in the conversation. It surprised everyone to hear him talk about things like that. Until Lightning came along, they didn't really know much about his life story; just that he was from the South and he had a sister in Ohio. "So, we would just drink all day. You don't think I miss that?"

Sarge couldn't help smiling. "With this family, I suppose you must do."

"And you don't think I miss not sleepin' on Christmas Eve, tryin' to get Mater to fall asleep?" Sheriff joked.

"My sister and I used to look for bits of holly and ivy to decorate the table for Christmas lunch", Fillmore added. "One year, it had spiders in it, completely ruined our Christmas lunch." He laughed and shook his front at the memory.

"Stanley and I used to drive down Main Street, looking at all the Christmas lights", Lizzie offered.

Sarge gave them a look that clearly said, Where are you going with this?

"The point is", Luigi concluded, "those are memories we will always have, always cherish. Now, in Radiator Springs, we all have a new home, a new family and a new life. So, we are always creating new memories here." He smiled at his daughter, who was sucking on a candy cane and Sarge knew what he meant.

"Besides", Fillmore began, "I've always felt like the least traditional Christmases are often the most memorable. The Christmases I remember the best are the one with those spiders and Fudge's first Christmas."

"Ah, yes!" Luigi smiled. "Fudge's first Christmas." (That had started off as such a disaster, but it ended with a wonderful moment: Fudge started crawling. Even though the Fiat had been furious at how it turned out at first, he had to admit, it was pretty memorable. Besides, how could he be too angry, given what Fudge did?)

"Great!" Sarge muttered. "The most memorable Christmases are the worst ones."

"Or the one where me and my high school buddies went to Aspen", the hippie van concluded.

Sarge had to admit, Fillmore had a point. So did Luigi.

The movie was over by then, so Mater yelled, "Hey, everybody! We is puttin' on our play tomorrow! Let's have one last rehearsal!"

Luigi smiled. "Let's go and make another memory."

So, not my best story, but I hope you enjoyed those little tidbits of the RS gang's Christmas memories. I wish I could've done more, but I didn't want it to get too long or loaded with irrelevant information.

I think you can guess what's next.

Please review! :)