Housekeeping: These are 25 mini fics focused on SG-1 and Christmas. Call it a Christmas Countdown or an advent calendar, doesn't matter. I'll be posting one a day (that's the plan but we all know holiday plans go sideways sometimes). No strong ships included but I'm working under the idea that Jack/Sam, Daniel/Vala, and Cam/Carolyn are things. And Teal'c will be around.

I own nothing about this.

Day One: What Color Is Christmas?

"I'm so confused. I thought your Christmas was supposed to be all red and green but I went shopping yesterday and the songs were all about blue and white," Vala said as she sat down across from Daniel in the Cheyenne Mountain commissary. "Blue and white and some awfully repetitive song about some woman only wanting 'you' for Christmas anyway. They were played in every store, I swear."

Daniel looked up from his National Geographic magazine. "Welcome to Christmas in America. I assume you're talking about Blue Christmas, White Christmas, and Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You?"

Vala nodded. "That sounds right. I don't want to get that third one stuck in my head, more stuck than it already is, so we're not going to talk about it. It was a good song the first time, maybe the second time but… no. Focus on the colors, please."

"Do I really look like someone who knows the deeper meanings of Christmas songs?"

She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "You are an anthropologist and a linguist so I feel like your personal opinions on the existence of God and Santa Claus aren't entirely relevant to whether or not you understand the meanings behind the wording in popular cultural songs."

He was mildly annoyed that she made a valid point there. Flipping the magazine shut, he made her wait until he swallowed the last of his coffee. "Fine. I'm starting with the significance of red and green though."

"I had hoped you would," she replied with a wink.

"From a religious standpoint, red symbolizes the blood of Jesus. Green comes from the idea of eternal life because evergreen trees stay green through the winter." He checked to make sure her eyes hadn't glazed over before continuing. "Also from a religious standpoint, white can symbolize purity and peace and the Catholic Church adopted the idea of blue because Mary is accepted to have worn blue."

Vala narrowed her eyes and stole a cookie off his tray. "I feel like none of that helps me with those awfully whiny songs I heard on the store radios."

"I didn't say it did," he countered, grabbing the last cookie before she could take it too. "But you asked an academic a question and we start at the beginning."

She waved her hands in surrender, showering cookie crumbs over them both. "Sorry."

Daniel chuckled. "So anyway, blue is traditionally a color of sadness and longing so the commercial classic Blue Christmas is about the sadness of unrequited love in the holiday season."

"That's depressing."

"It's supposed to be," he sighed, "and depression is a very real problem during the holidays. Anyway, White Christmas is also a melancholy song about longing because Irving Berlin, who was Jewish and did not celebrate Christmas, wrote it about his son who died on Christmas Day. It later became associated with American soldiers during World War II who missed home while they were away fighting."

"And these songs are supposed to make people cheery enough to shop?" Vala asked, understanding the colors better but confused about new parts of Earth life.

Daniel shrugged. "No idea. Any further questions?"

She leaned forward. "What's your favorite Christmas song?"

He thought for a long moment, and considered not answering at all. "Silent Night," he said finally, his voice soft. "We always went to church on Christmas Eve but it was more than that. My mom sang it as a lullaby every night when I was little. It's one of my favorite memories of her."