Chapter 1 It was the holiday season but Sara was not happy Riding home from school on the bus was pure torture Sara stared out the window at all the colored lights decorating the houses on street after street Sometimes people left their curtains open and Sara could see right into their living rooms where big trees glittered and shone Her friend Felicity poked her Here comes my stop Are you coming to Trina’s tomorrow We’re making Christmas cookies Can’t Sara said glumly Family stuff
OK I’ll save you some See you Monday Felicity got off the bus in a flurry of red scarf and green coat Sara could see Felicity’s house beyond her all decked out in giant candy canes with reindeer landing on the roof next to a huge star blinking on and off When she got to her own house it just looked dark and ordinary She banged the front door loud enough for her mother to hear from the kitchen Is that you Sara Don’t drop your coat on the floor Sara dragged her coat into the kitchen and dropped it on a chair She said to her mother I bet we’re the only family on the block that doesn’t have a Christmas tree Sara’s mother sighed You know we can’t have a tree honey we’re Jewish Jews don’t celebrate Christmas so Jews don’t have Christmas trees End of story Sara knew her mother loved beautiful things But they’re beautiful
I know honey And you can go over to your friends houses and enjoy their trees as much as you like It’s not the same We’re not the same Jews are weird Her mother stopped what she was doing and crouched down in front of her hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes Sara Has someone said anything at school Anything bad about being Jewish Mom quit it It’s not like that I just want a tree that’s all Why can’t we just have the same stuff as everyone else for once Sweetheart we may not have an ever green in our living room but we have plenty of lights this time of year now that Chanukah’s started Sara kicked the floor sulkily Just eight dumb candles So what Chanukah’s not even a very important Jewish holiday You said so yourself Maybe not But it’s what we celebrate in
