They didn't necessarily write about the birth of Jesus, but about snow, warm homes, sleigh bells, and a sense of American belonging. Out of poverty, immigration, and discrimination, those creators brought a soundtrack that turned Christmas into an all-American cultural phenomenon, not necessarily identified with any particular religion.

They didn't seek to convert their identity, but to build a shared musical language, and thus a new Christmas was created: secular, nostalgic, and universal, with classics that over the years have earned countless arrangements and modern performances.

Christmas in an American dream

Irving Berlin, born Israel Baline in a small town in Russia and raised in poverty in New York, became the most prolific composer in 20th-century America with more than 1,500 songs. He wrote "White Christmas" in 1941, despite the fact that December 25 was a day of mourning for him as his infant son died on that day in 1928.

The song, recorded by Bing Crosby for the film "Holiday Inn" (1942), became the best-selling single of all time and won Berlin an Oscar. It expressed longing for an idyllic past of a "White Christmas," not from religious faith but from yearning for a perfect American home.

In the 1940s and '50s, dozens more songs were written with a similar festive spirit, most by Jewish creators. "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow," written during a heat wave in Los Angeles in 1945, was born of a collaboration between Sammy Cahn (Samuel Cohen) and Jule Styne (Julius Kerwin Stein) – both children of Eastern European immigrants.

"Walking in a Winter Wonderland" was also the fruit of Felix Bernard's pen, son of Jewish immigrants, who composed the words of Richard B. Smith in 1934.

In those years, "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" was also created by Mel Tormé (native of Chicago, son of Russian immigrants) and Bob Wells (Robert Levinson). The duo wrote the song in 45 minutes on a hot summer day, out of longing for cold weather.

A year later, Nat King Cole's performance became a huge hit. Jay Livingston (Jacob Harold Levinson) and Ray Evans wrote "Silver Bells" in Bing Crosby's classic performance, describing peace in the city during the holiday.

Jewish childhood in a Christian winter

The pattern repeated itself: immigrants or children of Jewish immigrants who sought to integrate into American society created music that suited the spirit of the season, but not necessarily the religion. George David Weiss (Bernard Weissman) and Edward Pola (Sidney Edward Polachek) wrote "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" in 1963, one of the hits most associated with the holiday.

The song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," another classic from 1934, was born from a collaboration between American lyricist Haven Gillespie and composer J. Fred Coots. Coots, who grew up in a Jewish home in New York and, according to stories, played at bar mitzvahs, composed the song in just ten minutes.

Joan Ellen Javits (niece of Senator Jacob K. Javits) and Philip Springer wrote the popular "Santa Baby," recorded by singer Eartha Kitt in 1953.

Rudolph and the dream of belonging

Johnny Marks, son of a prominent Jewish family in Mount Vernon, New York, stands behind one of the most familiar and beloved classics, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," about the rejected reindeer with the red nose, based on a story by his brother-in-law Robert L. May.

Marks was also responsible for "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "A Holly Jolly Christmas," with some saying that the character of Rudolph became an accepted symbol of "the outsider who saves the day" – an interpretation reminiscent of the story of Jewish integration in America.

Longing for home

Walter Kent (Morris Kaufman), son of a Lithuanian Jewish family, wrote the music for "I'll Be Home for Christmas" in 1943, a song of an American soldier dreaming of returning home for the holiday. Here too, the longing is fulfilled only in dreams.

Mitchell Parish (Michael Hyman Pashelinsky), a native of Lithuania, wrote the words for "Sleigh Ride" in 1950 to Leroy Anderson's tune, another work that symbolizes an America equipped with a sleigh and bells.

Zvika, who will soon celebrate his fiftieth birthday, could have received an exemption, but even during the war, when his son's condition was unclear, he continued to show up. Not always, only when he was available, but he accumulated days in order to continue belonging to the company.

"On the first candle of Hanukkah 2023, I climbed onto an armored personnel carrier on the way to Khan Younis," recalled Major (Res.) D., Zvika's friend in the battalion. "All around were cluster bombs and I admit I was scared. I asked 'what for?' and then the thought crossed my mind that if Zvika had asked 'I need ten people to help get Eitan out of Gaza.' Obviously I would come and I know that if I were in his situation, picked up the phone, he and my friends in the battalion would come, right?" Staff Sergeant (Res.) Zvika Mor, from Company B, didn't think for a second. "Obviously."

Major (Res.) D. celebrated his fortieth birthday the day before we met. With him in the room were Zvika, Staff Sergeant (Res.) A. the NCO and Command Sergeant Major (Res.) A., and the company third-in-command. Everyone has known each other for years of training and combat. Only when Mor reached age 45 did they part from him. They thought the time had come, but two months before the war broke out, the day that would shake his life, he began to waver about returning. "I said I wanted to contribute," Mor said. "I thought that if I come at my age it will strengthen the younger soldiers and I asked to be a fighter like them."

In the army, procedures take time and by the time they came back with an answer the war had broken out. The battalion was called up in the morning hours of October 7 to the Gaza border region and entered combat in Kfar Aza. At the same hours, Mor was at the synagogue in Kiryat Arba for Simchat Torah prayers.

"I didn't understand what happened until Saturday night," Mor said. "There were no sirens. True, they talked about rockets, but we didn't think it was unusual. Only when I returned home, I found everyone crying. My wife said, 'Eitan disappeared, he was in the south' and directed me to the news. I didn't open the news websites, but from the quiet group of the company, and there I received a war diary."

In the first ten days, there was no information about Eitan, and when Zvika felt there wasn't much of a way to help, he picked up the phone to the battalion, and asked if there was a way to help.

"A week after the start of the fighting, Zvika appears with equipment that was missing from the company," A. said. "I ask 'what are you doing?' He said a sentence I won't forget 'We're part of the people and I need to contribute.'"

Zvika smiled. "I brought things that fighters need," he explained. "By contrast, it's like in mourning after the death of a relative. There are those busy with the burial and there are those who sit on the side and cry. I didn't have a need to run away, we didn't know what Eitan's condition was, we prayed that he was kidnapped. I asked my wife if she agreed that I would go to reserve duty and she said yes."

But Zvika received approval to return to reserve duty only in summer 2024, and then he joined the battalion that was active in the north. "My wife begged that I wouldn't cross the border fence," he said. "She said it's enough we have another son who is a soldier in regular service and a son-in-law who is fighting. I agreed, but I didn't announce that I was in an outpost near Metula. I told her I was organizing vegetables in Kiryat Shmona."

In the battalion, they didn't know what to do. With all due respect to Mor's desires to fight, there's national sensitivity here. In the end, he was assigned as one of the NCOs in Company B, under A., the chief NCO. "I told them 'I'm here'," he recalled. "I know how to cook, to clean. To lend a hand. There were all kinds of tasks like moving equipment, bringing medicines, fixing a torn vest. I explained that I don't need mercy. I only asked for flexibility in trips home."

A., the chief NCO, confirmed. "Zvika always reports for duty." It's quite amazing how connected the two are. Mor, a resident of Kiryat Arba, who during the two years his son was in captivity waved a different flag from part of the families. He believed in military pressure on Hamas, which, in his opinion, would also lead to the release of the hostages.

A., who comes from a Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz in the Jezreel Valley, was on the other side of the political map. "Zvika thinks differently and that's fine," A. laughed. "There's nothing that can undermine the connection. They said, 'Your friend from Channel 14' and I felt pride. We're in a democratic country where everyone says what they think."

Zvika, who experienced quite a bit of criticism during the two years, agreed. "We're such good friends," he said. "Take a couple of parents who don't get along and now their child is sick and if they're normal they know to put everything aside and save the child and after that they'll have time to quarrel."

Weren't there people in the battalion who thought differently from you?

"They asked, 'Aren't you afraid they'll torture Eitan?' I answered 'I have instructions not to humiliate the captives and not to speak against Islam'. I want my son. 'Pressure Hamas,' I requested. In some places, Eitan was a card. I say with reservation, but he was at lower risk than a fighter on the front and after he returned, we also heard from him that Izz a-Din al-Hadad (head of Hamas' military wing) visited him four times and told the captors that if something happens to him, he will kill them. Not everyone was careful, once Eitan stole pita when he was hungry, they tied him to a chair and beat him terribly."

The company took an outpost above Metula when Hezbollah fired at them. A. was even injured when the APC overturned, but there, on one of the evenings, Zvika stood before the company and spoke. "It was important for me to share, because there were those who wanted to know and were embarrassed to ask," he explained. "I said I'm opening everything."

Zvika continued to move between home, his son's release activity, and reserve service. "When the country trembled over whether there's a deal, he'd show up with the car," A. said. "I say to myself, 'We can't concentrate, so why is he coming?'" Zvika smiled, "I brought equipment."

On the day of Eitan's release from captivity, the company was in Ramot Naftali, and he was, of course, at Reim Base in the south, waiting for his son. Those who weren't in active service watched with excitement at what was happening. "We opened a laptop and watched like a soccer match," A. said. "When we saw Eitan, there was a shout of 'yesss' like a winning goal in the Champions League final. Everyone was on the screen."

Today, more than two months after the release, Zvika can share what his son went through. When they met, he showed his friends the first video that proved to the family that Eitan was alive. A video that naval commandos found in Gaza.

"Here we saw that he has two hands and two eyes," Zvika said. "Eitan was kidnapped on October 7 by Gazans, who opened a toolbox on him and literally cut his back. We feared for his condition, and the intelligence also didn't know how to tell. Eitan returned thin, weak, but healthy. Understand, he was a tough guy and lost 15 kilograms of muscle mass. He went through torture, but he's strong, optimistic, and didn't reach a difficult mental state."

Was he in mortal danger?

"The army didn't know where he was being held, so Eitan was sure he would die in the bombardments. Most of the time, he was held in basements and apartments and buildings around him collapsed. Thank God nothing happened to his hearing, to vision, yes, he's now wearing glasses. He came back a bit subdued, for two years he spoke in a whisper, and even when he returned, he spoke in a whisper. For example, on the first day, when he met his brother, he suggested they go into a room in the hospital and talk, and automatically sat on the floor, in an Eastern sitting position. Arab behavior. Slowly, he returned to himself, smiled, and for us, in some ways, it's like getting to know him anew."

How is he physically?

"There was an infection in his hand, digestive system problems, and thank God, we've almost finished that stage. The main thing is to see him returning, because he's a joker. He managed to escape from the hospital when he was in treatment. He climbed over a fence and went out to walk around the streets of Petah Tikva. He said, 'I was in captivity, so another one?'"

A. asked if Eitan speaks Arabic. "When he was captured, he said, 'My job is to survive.' He made a deal with his captors 'I'll learn Arabic, you'll learn English.' Today, he's 100% Arabic. Reading and speaking in the Gaza dialect. He writes his memoirs in Arabic."

The battalion will finish a round of reserve duty in early 2026 and, in the summer, will serve two more months, this time in the south. "I told my wife, 'I wish I could say I'm not going anymore'. I can't. I'm 47 years old, and she knows that if I stay home and they're in reserve duty, I'll drive her even crazier." Zvika agreed, "As long as they need me, I'll report for duty."