When Wanda invites Loki over for a quiet Christmas Eve, he has no idea what to expect. In his studies of religions, he has learned that Magda, practicing Judaism, would not celebrate this holiday. He does not know what Wanda's beliefs are. He knocks on the door at sunset and she answers warmly, ushering him in with a hug and kisses on the cheeks. They have not seen each other in a few days. Alexi spent the day after Yule at his house and stayed until the storm passed, creeping his car to work for the night shift. Loki slept heavily, waking late and only leaving the house to shovel his porch and walk. It was very cold and he was very tired. When Wanda called him to extend the invitation, he had been dunking a slightly stale cinnamon roll in his coffee while watching light snow drift across his back yard.
"Come in. It is far too cold to stand outside for long." She closes the door.
"Yes, it is quite cold. How many months did you say this lasts?"
"Usually the deep cold is strongest in January and February. The city begins to warm a little in March."
Magda comes from the living room, "Hello, my dear brother! It has been too long." She embraces him, kisses his cheeks, and then hugs him again, "I know it has only been a few days, but I have missed you."
"And I you, Magda."
"Ah, do not lie, my dear one- I know you had company." She winks at him.
"That does not mean I did not miss your gentle teasing about him, Sister."
"Oh, I am sure we can make up for it tonight. Wanda? Do you think we can?"
"Certainly. Especially given how deeply you seemed to be enjoying his company when I delivered your treats."
"Hmmm, yes. I was being gifted a treat of another kind."
Magda pats his shoulder, "Ah, yes you were! Now come, tell us about your nights. We have plenty of coffee. You can regale us with all the sordid details."
"They aren't that sordid."
"Then tell us what you hold in the deep corners of your heart and mind. Come, Wanda, there is khobiz mohala on the dining table. We will eat. Unless your story is so scintillating that we ought not." She wags both eyebrows and then bursts into giggles.
Loki laughs as they each take an arm and playfully drag him to the table; Magda pours coffee and Wanda props her feet up on a chair, "So...you and Alexi. Your first time, or no?"
"No."
"I hear a 'but' in there."
"Yes, a butt...I assume there were two of them," Magda snorts as she giggles at her own joke.
Loki rolls his eyes and chuckles, "You are terrible."
"I know! I cannot help it. Carry on."
"The first with someone I care deeply about. Other encounters were sex for the sake of having sex."
"And how do you feel? Is this good?"
"Oh yes, very. And it is as I have feared- once we have shared this, I have fallen so completely for him. My dear sisters, I think I am in love."
Wanda gets up and hugs him, "I am happy for you. Enjoy this feeling of new love. It is beautiful."
"Thank you."
Magda lights candles in the centre of the table, "I as well. You are glowing. We would not be able to see these candles if your joy were a lamp."
"Is this a holiday where candles are lit for the dead? I have not encountered that in my readings."
"No, but there are many traditions that use candle light. The story is that Christ was born at midnight when the star that heralded his birth was directly above his manger. In our country, we hold mass at midnight so that we can honour that birth, and the service is lit by candles. It is quite beautiful," Wanda explains.
"Are there churches here that do the same? I would like to some day see that."
"Yes. We will not go out tonight. It is too snowy. But next year, perhaps."
"And next year perhaps we will get to the temple for one of my holidays. This has been a year for staying home, though."
"I would say a year for folding inward towards family," Wanda says.
Magda nods, "I like that. Shall we see if the first star has come out?"
"Is the night clearing?"
"Yes. It promises to be very cold."
"The first star?"
Wanda gestures for him to follow to the kitchen, "Yes. In Sokovia, we fast during the days of Advent- the weeks leading up to Christmas. Many of us have ceased that tradition on all days but today. We cannot break bread until the first light in the east appears, a reminder of the Christmas star."
"I have read the Christmas story. It seems there are many traditions that elaborate on it."
"There are. And here in America, there are so many different ones kept. People have come here from all over the world and shared their traditions, blending them, creating new ones."
Magda points excitedly to the sky, "There! Do you see it?"
"Yes, I do!"
"To the table! We have a feast waiting after the oplatki!"
"The what?" They sit and Wanda brings a beautiful shallow bowl from the kitchen.
"Wanda will explain. There is a story here, woven in this Christmas Eve tradition, and she will tell it."
"This bowl has been in my family for generations. Like me, it should not have survived this long. But it did." She sets it on the table and Loki can see that there is a special section of the bowl that holds a glass dish filled with honey. In the main section of the bowl, short stalks of straw stick out from under an antique cotton handkerchief embroidered with a yellow star in the middle that reaches nearly to its edges. On it sits a round piece of flat bread, "First, the symbolism. Then I will tell you about the bowl and cloth. The oplatki bread is made just for this day. We will break it together and dip it in honey. This is for the sweetness of the gift. It rests on the cloth over straw, which stands for where Christ was born- in a manger. Now this bowl, made for this purpose only, belonged last to my grandmother. She kept it in a safe box at the bank. This is how it has survived. I did not know I had the key until I arrived in this country.
"You see, when we were children, Pietro and I had nightmares. Our mother gave us little trinkets to tuck under our pillows so we could clutch them close to our hearts when we were frightened. We kept this tradition even into our adult years, often tucking the little things she had last given us in our pockets. When we were pulled from the rubble of our home, I had my gradfather's little leather key wallet and Pietro had our great grandmother's handkerchief. We both had the rosaries we received at our first communion. HYDRA later took the rosaries, but they left us with these things, little incentives to behave, lest they take them away. And so when I landed here, I finally took a closer look at my gradndfather's keys. I realized that one was a bank box key. And so I claimed it, his only living relation. My grandmother had placed family heirlooms in the box. This bowl. Jewellery. Recipes. A quilt. The christening gowns worn by Pietro and I, which had also been worn by her children. And a little cloth bag containing scraps of wedding dresses. A connection to Sokovia I desperately needed at the time when I found the key. Magda and I have used this bowl every Christmas Eve we have been together."
"You were very fortunate it survived."
"Yes. And so tonight when we break this bread together, let us be grateful not only for the homes we have left, but for those which we are making right were we are."
Magda takes the bowl from Wanda and sets it in front of Loki, "It is tradition that the eldest amongst us break the bread. Usually, this is my task. But today, would you like to?"
"In what manner do I break it?"
"A piece for each." He breaks it in three pieces and they sit close, dipping the bread into the honey.
"And now it is Christmas Eve," Wanda says as she brushes crumbs from her fingers.
"Yes, and now we will feast! Twelve dishes, and they are all in the kitchen. Come, there are cabbage rolls and peirogi, fish, soups, and sweets. Let us bring it all to the table and we shall ring in the holiday with many good things."
Loki follows Magda out to the kitchen and she hands him a soup tureen. She follows balancing two trays and Wanda brings out a long platter of peirogi and cabbage rolls.
"Is yours the only country that rings in this holiday with such a feast?"
"No," Wanda says as she carefully sets the platter on the table and slides it back, "Many nations in our part of the world do. We are but one. Twelve dishes, one for each of the disciples of Christ. And it is not just Catholics who celebrate, but many who believe in no religion at all come together in this way on this night. We are celebrating our families, not just a religious holiday."
"And this is why it is of no consequence that Magda is of a different religion?"
"It is of no consequence because we do not let it be- in Sokovia, our religions live side by side. People intermarry and share their lives. So our traditions blend and we share them together. Even through the wars, the nation stopped for peace on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day." Magda shrugs, "I suppose in such a small country it was far to hard to believe the other was the enemy. Every Jewish family had Christians in it and every Christian family had Jews in it. Sharing traditions and living in peace meant keeping a family together."
"That seems quite unique to Sokovia."
"It is."
Wanda heaps his plate with a little bit of everything and pours him a bowl of pink soup, "Beets. Now, tradition holds that you must try a little of everything. And you will not regret it if you do."
Loki samples the vibrant broth and smiles, "No, I certainly will not. This is delicious."
After dinner, they clear the table, wash dishes, and go up to the attic for movies. They cuddle together on the pillows for children's Christmas specials and popcorn, hot chocolate with candy canes hooked over the edge of the mugs and fluffy blankets draped over their laps. One by one, they doze off. Magda first, then Loki, then Wanda. They wake up on Christmas morning to the softly looping menu music from "It's Christmastime, Charlie Brown!".
"Happy Christmas, Loki!" Magda bounces from her pillow and practically skips to the door, "Come! I will make latkes!"
Wanda crawls over to the television and turns it off, "She is far more excited about morning than I think I can be."
"And it is your holiday."
"Yes, but I like sleeping."
"What do you typically do on Christmas?"
"Unwrap gifts. And eat rich foods. And possibly sing carols or watch a holiday film. I used to go to mass. The past few years I have spent the day at home. I asked for Pietro to be allowed to come today, but I do not know who can bring him."
"I think I should go shower and change before breakfast."
"Yes, if you wish, this would be a good time. Latkes take a little while to cook."
He returns to his own home and showers, putting on his soft black wool tunic, a thick sweater, and flannel trousers. He retrieves a small basket from his guest bedroom and returns to Magda's.
The house smells of frying potato and onion- Loki is instantly hungry. Wanda is setting the table and Magda wanders from the dining room to the living room, excited by the tree she has placed in the corner, covered in lights and ornaments.
He hands her the basket, "For under the tree. Ralph told me this holiday is for exchanging gifts."
She sets the basket in an open space and hugs him, "You are sweet. And Ralph is good to have helped you. Did you invite him to Christmas?"
"Yes, but he has a brother he visits."
"And Alexi?"
"He is working. He says holiday pay is far too good to pass up."
"Is Thor here?"
"Not that I am aware of."
"And Jane has, no doubt, family of her own to celebrate with."
"I would assume so."
"We will have a delightful holiday together! Come, breakfast is nearly ready. It is a good snowy morning for latkes."