Eren returned to the city, but rather than going to his room, he went out to drink alone. He thought about how he left Louise. Her family would be glad to have the German soldiers off their property, whereas she would cry, maybe even be angry with her grandfather for chasing Eren away.
Surely, her grandfather knew that. He was also the only man in that family who could safely threaten Eren in such a way. He was gambling on an assumption that Eren was honorable and would obey an old German veteran. He willingly risked it all for his granddaughter.
What a strong man! The old generation really were amazing.
A soldier sat next to him, and when Eren glanced over, he saw Oliver.
"Oh! Good evening."
"Out drinking alone the day after your wedding? Surely she's not that bad of a wife."
Eren laughed awkwardly. "No, I ... I took her back to her parents today. They live a little outside of the city. I figured she'd be safer there."
Oliver nodded and ordered a beer. They sat quietly for a moment with the rest of the beer hall boisterous with soldiers and civilians. Looking around, one would never know they were just days away from a fierce battle. They were living life to the fullest while they could.
"You know," Oliver said, staring off with his beer stein, "three times I've written letters to my wife, asking her to come to whatever city I was stationed in, bring the children, that way I can see them growing up. All three times, I tore up those letters. I realized, as nice as it would be to have my family with me, they would never be safe being anywhere near me, not during this war. It's hard, perhaps impossible, to fully focus on our duty as soldiers when we have a wife right there with us, worrying for her safety all the time. I know I would rather protect the house she lives in at the cost of losing a thousand men, and that's why I know, she can't be in the same city as me. I miss my wife and children a lot, I write to them every week, but my duty comes first. When I return to Dresden, she'll be waiting there with our boys. That is when I get to be a father. For now, I'm a soldier."
Eren hummed and nodded in agreement. "You're right. I'm a soldier first."
He patted Eren's shoulder. "At least you'll see her on weekends, right?"
"Probably not. Her family doesn't exactly like me, and I don't like the idea of being that far away from my men. We promised to write, though."
"That's nice. You know, I think my wife and I get along better through letters than standing around the kitchen arguing," he said with a light laugh.
Eren chuckled as well. "You know, her grandfather served in the Kaiserliche Marine."
"Really! An old vet, huh? Greiz said something about her being German. It's a good thing you married her, then. You should send her to Germany."
"I told her to go to my family's estate. It's up in Cuxhaven."
"Is that near Hamburg?" asked Oliver, and Eren nodded. "I always wanted to see the ocean. I was born and raised in Dresden, never got to travel before I joined the Heer, never got stationed anywhere close to the sea. Now all I want is to go back home and never leave."
They passed the rest of the night sipping beer and talking about life back in Germany. It was wistful to think about home. Although he had told Louise that she could escape to his family's estate if things went bad, after meeting her parents, Eren doubted they would let her. That final goodbye through the car door would likely be the last time he saw her.
And he was okay with that.
As he walked back to the hotel, he wondered if Levi felt the same way with his sudden departure. Was he okay with it? Did he feel it was best to leave without a proper goodbye? Of course, between him and Levi, they had a promise to meet in New York. It was not really a final farewell, just a see you later.
He returned to his room, loosened up his uniform, and gazed out the window.
"I finally get the room to myself for a night," he muttered. "How boring."
Just then, he heard a faint scratching above. He ignored it, thinking it was the wind. Then he heard the noise again, a slow and rhythmic scratching. His brow tensed, and he glanced up at the attic hatch. Eren slowly walked up to the tiny door in the ceiling.
"Wer ist da?" he whispered. When no reply came, he gulped, feeling hope already bubbling up, and asked in English, "Who's there?"
A soft, deep voice replied, "It's me."
His whole body sprang with joy. Eren leaped up onto the chair and threw open the hatch. A knife was instantly at his throat.
"Levi!"
"Holy shit! Don't scare me like that." Levi pulled the blade away. "What is with you? Do you have a death wish?"
Tears of relief burning in Eren's eyes. "Is that really you?"
"No, I'm a ghost. Of course it's me, takhshet."
Hearing that old nickname, Eren let out a sudden cry.
"Oye, oye! Quiet!"
Eren grabbed his mouth to keep from shouting and disturbing the other officers.
Levi struggled against a smile at seeing Eren so overjoyed. "Can I come down?"
"Yes!"
Eren scrambled out of the way. Levi lowered the rope ladder, and Eren held onto his waist as he climbed down. Once Levi's feet were firmly on the ground, Eren did not let go. He grabbed Levi into his arms and nearly crushed him.
"Ow! Bastard, I can't breathe." Levi he felt Eren's chest shaking. He tried to look up into his face, but Eren had smothered himself into the crook of Levi's neck. "Are you crying?"
"No," Eren said, snuffling up snot. "I'm n-not crying."
"Such a little boy," he muttered, yet he hugged Eren back. Feeling those strong arms around him felt comforting, and a stiffness that had been in his shoulders all week finally loosened up.
"I was so afraid that you left regretting everything, hating me, you didn't want me anymore, didn't want my help, and I'd never be able to tell you how much ... how much I..."
Levi stroked his fingers through Eren's hair and whispered, "Chut, chut, ça va." Hush, hush, it's okay. On one hand, Levi was happy to hear just how much Eren missed him, and on the other hand, he felt guilty that he left Eren so suddenly. "You brat. Didn't I tell you before: don't regret anything you must do to live on. No regrets! Besides, you can't get rid of me that easily, and don't ever think you'll never see me again. Of course you will."
Eren laughed weakly. Of course. He had promised to meet Levi in New York.
Eren could not let go of him, holding Levi as if he could keep him there forever, always safe and protected in his arms. Everything about him, the scent of his hair, the warmth of his body, everything was what he wanted, what he missed, what he dreamed about.
He finally stepped back, and that was when he really looked at Levi. He was so different, cleaned up, his hair washed and trimmed with an undercut. Rather than the honey-brown leather jacket, he had a sleek black trench coat. He wore new clothes, a buttoned white shirt with a brown waistcoat and black trousers. Eren took a moment to simply stare at him.
"New clothes?"
Levi glanced down. "Oh, yeah. Yelena said I should fit in more. My clothes were suspicious, what with those shitty trousers and your shirt practically hanging off of me. She also said that yellow jacket made me stick out like piss in a goblet of holy water." He shrugged off a bag that had been hanging on his shoulder, and it landed heavily on the table. "Your shirt is in there, if you want it back. The jacket is back at headquarters, but I can return it if you really want it."
"I don't care about the clothes, they're yours. Why are you here?" he cried out in a desperate whisper.
"Yelena said you needed to talk to me."
Eren's face went pale. He had not thought yet precisely how he would tell Levi about Louise, and now he cringed at the idea that Levi might get angry and leave again. He tentatively asked, "What do you know so far about the plan to escape?"
Levi removed his flat cap and shrugged off the wet coat, hanging it over the back of a chair to dry. "Yelena doesn't tell me much, other than there's some trouble with the guy who forges documents for her." He rolled his long, white sleeves up and tugged the waistcoat straight. "I offered to convince him to help us, but she doesn't want me to scare her old clients."
"Oh," Eren whispered. "Yeah, apparently that is a problem. She's looking into it."
"So, why did you need to see me?"
Eren grabbed his right hand, hiding the gold ring on his finger. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise me something."
Levi arched an eyebrow. "What?"
"Don't yell at me, don't hit me, and don't leave until I can completely explain everything."
Levi rolled his eyes. "What the hell did you do this time?"
"Well, for one, I ... I got Louise out of the city."
Levi went from suspicious to surprised. "You did? That's great. But how, without fake documents? Did you put her in a barrel or something?"
"No..." Eren closed his eyes, not wanting to see the expression on Levi's face. It took him a moment before he built up the courage to confess, "I married her."
Levi stared silently. Those three words made no sense. He shook his head, thinking he must have translated the English into French wrong. Eren couldn't have said what he thought he heard. "Repeat that."
He turned away, unable to face Levi with the guilt in his heart. He nervously rubbed his right hand, and when Levi glanced down, he saw a gold band there.
"I married her," he whispered again. "As an officer's wife, I was able to get her out of the city. She's with her parents now."
Levi's eyes narrowed and his face contorted. "You..." Both fists clenched. No wonder Yelena had looked like she pitied him as she told him to go talk to Eren. "So, let me get this straight. You took her to a church, in front of a priest, you said 'I do' and you kissed her and you got married?"
Eren meekly glanced back. "Something like that."
Levi felt like he had been punched in the gut. Married! "Do you..." Quietly, fearing the answer, he asked, "Do you love her?"
"Wha- ... No! I hardly know her. I did this to save her. I mean, mein Gott, if I could marry you to get you out of here, I would, and I would mean it..."
Levi looked up in shock at that rushed confession, yet Eren did not realize what he just said.
"...but with her, I did not mean it at all. It was a way we could get her out, und nicht mehr. Nothing more. She has protection so long as Germans are here."
"And when you're not? What are your plans for her long-term? Are you going to keep her in a lavender marriage?"
"In a what?"
"Are you planning to divorce her, or keep her?"
"Divorce, annulment, whatever."
A shot of acid hit his mouth, and Levi gulped it back down. A tick jolted in his jaw as he whispered, "Did you fuck her?"
"No!" Eren cried out.
"Keep your voice down."
Eren continued in a desperate, sad whisper. "I'm not in love with her, and I didn't have sex with her. I did it purely to protect her." His head lowered. "I'm sorry. It was the only way."
The sneer on Levi's face softened, the quivering of his tight lips stopped, and the initial rage sank as he thought about the issue like a soldier and not a jilted lover. Of course, Eren was the sort of person who would go that far just to help some random girl.
"I guess, if I was in your place and I knew I could save a girl from a horrible fate simply by going through some stupid ceremony, I'd figure, 'Why the hell not?' So long as you didn't mean it and you didn't do anything with her..."
Eren was glad to see Levi calming down. "I swear I didn't. Well, I mean..."
"What?" Levi growled, instantly on edge again.
"She ... She had to spend the night here a few times. It was for her safety, at the request of Carly. She ... slept in my bed."
"Did you touch her?" asked Levi, and Eren's guilty face stirred up his rage once again. "What the hell did you do?" he seethed, barely keeping his voice down.
"I ... this morning, I ... I woke up, and I had my arm around her. I was having a dream—a really nice dream, if you know what I mean. For a moment, I thought she was you, and I was holding her. I'm sorry."
"You were only holding her? Like, you just draped your arm around her?" His eyes narrowed. "Did you grab her breasts?"
"No," Eren whispered, cringing down. "I ... I ... I was up against her and ... Mein Schwanz war hart."
"What?"
"I don't know how to say it in English," Eren snapped in humiliation. "Ich hatte einen feuchten Traum. Mein Schwanz war hart und drückte gegen ihren Arsch..." I had a wet dream. My cock was hard and against her ass.
"Eren, Eren," Levi said, grabbing his arms to calm him down.
"I did not mean it," he said in anguish.
"I believe you. Whatever the hell you did, I believe it was an accident." Considering how broken with guilt he looked, whatever happened, Levi could never be angry with Eren. It obviously tortured him. Besides, the idea of Eren having a dream about him filled Levi with a warm sense of endearment.
"She woke me up before I did anything. She said I was talking in my sleep, and I said your name."
"Then, does she know about me?"
"Not really, just that your name is Levi. I never talked about you. I didn't want her to know anything."
"Good. That's safest."
"She figured out rather quickly that I ... I have someone I love," he said, giving Levi a soft, longing smile. He picked up his hand and caressed the knuckles. "She agreed to the wedding knowing I had no interest in her, and I would never betray the person I love."
Those ardent words brought heat to Levi's cheeks despite himself. As much as it hurt to hear that Eren would marry a woman just to protect her, it must have been miserable for a gay man like Eren to pretend for days on end.
"On your knees."
Eren's mouth dropped in shock.
"I told you, right? I would forgive you, no matter what you had to do, but only if you beg for my forgiveness on your knees."
Eren laughed awkwardly as his cheeks turned pink. "Yeah, you did say that." He dropped to one knee in front of Levi and gazed up. "Please, Levi. Please, will you forgive me?"
A lump choked in Levi's throat. He thought it would be amusing to lower Eren into begging, but something about this scene, Eren on one knee, those teal eyes gazing up with so much love and warmth, waiting for a reply: it hit Levi hard.
"Du farkirtst mir di yorn!"
"What?"
"Nothing." He reached his hand out, but as Eren began to reach up to grasp it, the light caught on the gold wedding band. Levi's eyes flicked over to it, and Eren followed the stern gaze to his right hand.
"Oh! Sorry." He pulled the wedding band off and set it on the table.
Levi grabbed up the hand and looked at his knuckle, as if to make sure the wedding band had not indented his finger yet. He rubbed over the faint mark and shot a scathing glare down at him.
"Never wear that ring when you're around me."
A bittersweet smile quivered on Eren's lips. "When you're around me? Are you staying?"
"Maybe I need to before you do anything else stupid." He raised Eren's hand up and kissed his knuckles. "I forgive you, but I am not happy. I don't like flirting with a married man."
Flirting? That thought made Eren suddenly bashful. Then he felt a tug on his hand, and Levi pulled him up off his knee. Eren stood and gazed endearingly at Levi.
"Thank you for forgiving me."
Levi rolled his eyes. "It's not like you fucked her."
"No, but I did have to kiss her in front of the priest."
Levi scowled but grumbled, "That's just part of the ceremony."
"And I ended up holding her last night, although I was asleep."
That part really irked Levi, but at least it was an action based on dreams of him. "I guess I can forgive that too."
Eren began to lean in but paused. "May I kiss you?"
Levi's hand shot out and grabbed Eren's chin. Although his face remained calm, almost cold, Eren saw the tenseness in the corners of Levi's lips. He slowly pulled Eren's chin down, and the young lieutenant leaned over.
Tentatively, their lips met in a kiss. Levi pulled back, but he could not step away.
"Merde, tu m'as manqué!" Shit, I missed you!
He grabbed Eren harder and attacked his mouth. The arms that wrapped around him were warm, comforting, protective, the cure to his loneliness. But more! This was an embrace he craved. These lips, once something that confused him, now left him with dreams that stirred him late at night.
He grabbed Eren's shoulders, stepped forward, and pushed him back until Eren bumped into the wall. Levi pressed up against him, and his tongue was welcomed by Eren's mouth. Long arms yanked on him, pulling him even closer, and Levi took another step, standing between Eren's legs, their bodies grinding together.
Eren let out a sensuous moan.
"Quiet!" hissed Levi.
"It's okay, they'll think it's her," he said in a rush before colliding back into Levi's kiss.
Another heated moan rippled through the air, and Levi cursed softly. Maybe the surrounding soldiers would think it was Louise pleasuring Eren, but hearing him being so openly loud really stirred Levi up. He thought about some woman getting to kiss these lips, and it burned him. He bit Eren's lower lip and got a quivering cry of pain.
There! That would be his punishment!
Levi then tiptoed up and latched his mouth onto Eren's neck, sucking hard to mark him. His! Maybe the other men would see that and think it was this new wife who made that mark, but still, they would see it. His mark!
Levi hated to admit that he was jealous, it was a sinful trait, yet he felt the acid in his heart. He wanted to purge Eren clean from her, push that woman out of his thoughts, make him exclusively his.
His boyfriend!
He attacked the other side of Eren's neck, this time so roughly that Eren let out a cry.
"Aua, das tut weh." Ow, that hurts.
Levi suddenly yanked away, realizing his passion was getting out of control. This was precisely why he left. He could no longer trust himself. As for Eren, his face was flushed, lips glistening, his hair rumpled from Levi's fingers, a hand up at the side of his neck, holding the bruise. He slumped against the wall, winded from the attack, gloriously defeated.
Levi tried to calm himself before he did anything truly idiotic, yet already the night felt cold without Eren holding him. He took a cautious step closer and leaned his cheek against Eren's chest. He listened to the racing heart as Eren's arms wrapped around him, so warm and comforting.
Softly, worried about rejection, Levi whispered, "Would you mind if I stayed here for the night?"
Eren gasped with a surge of emotions boiling in his chest. "Of course you can stay," he blurted out.
Levi turned his head up to look at Eren's face. "It's not safe for you."
"I don't care. I need you. After ... all of this ... I need you."
Those yearning words warmed Levi's heart. Poor Eren! The decision to marry a lady just to save her must have been a hard one, and it was obviously a heavy weight on his shoulders now. Levi reached down to Eren's right hand again and rubbed over the faint indent. It would fade by morning, but Eren may need to wear that ring for weeks, months, however long this war dragged on. That gold band was now a burden that could scar him.
"It would only be for a few days. Yelena said it would take more time. The place they're in is damp, freezing, and the cot they gave me to sleep on hurt like hell before my back was injured."
"Wait, what?" Eren pulled Levi away and frantically looked him over. "Injured? Where? What happened?"
"Oh, right, you wouldn't know yet." Levi walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. He saw The Count of Monte Cristo still lying on the nightstand. So, Eren kept the book. Somehow, that made Levi a bit happy. "To be honest, I got in a small fight."
"They made you fight?" Eren whispered in rage, taking a seat next to him.
"Not the Resistance, and it wasn't with Germans. It was just some idiot local hoodlum. I was on an errand, it was late at night, and this jackass came up to me demanding money. I told him to shove his bullshit back up his arse, he threw me into a railing, and I warned him that was a big mistake. At least I called for an ambulance and didn't just leave him there to bleed out."
Eren burst into a laugh. That sounded more like Levi.
"He only got in the hit because I was trying not to kick his arse. Yelena said to keep violence to a minimum, something about the Gestapo cracking down on incidents. So, at least until my back stops hurting ... and ... especially tonight," Levi whispered. "I wanted to see you tonight."
"Why? What's tonight?"
"Rosh Hashanah."
Eren arched an eyebrow. "Is that a Jewish word?"
"It's a holiday. It's kind of a big deal, one of our High Holy Days, and I ... well, I wanted to spend it with someone who isn't going to give me shit about it."
Eren burst into a huge smile. That was Levi's gruff way of saying he wanted to spend this special holiday with him. "What does it celebrate?"
"Basically, it's our New Year's Day. It's the day God created Adam and Chawwah."
"Adam and who?"
Levi rolled his eyes. "Ève."
"Ah! Adam und Eva."
"Sure, whatever."
"So, Jews believe God created humans on September 17th?"
"That's what Europeans call it. In Israel, it's the 1st day of the month Tishrei and marks the beginning of the year. Why the Romans picked fuckin' January as the start of the year, who knows. It's stupid, nothing's going on in January, it's not even aligned to the start of a season. Why start the new year in the middle of winter? You can have a bigger party when it's not iced over."
"I never thought about it that way," he muttered. Sometime in school, Eren had learned that the Romans made up the calendar and named the months after their gods and emperors. It never dawned on him that other cultures started the year on another day. "So, how do you celebrate Rosh Hashanah?"
Levi looked wary, seeing in Eren the same curiosity that once lit up Petra's eyes when she became eager to learn more about Judaism. He stubbornly shook his head. "I only said I wanted to spend it with you, not celebrate it." Like hell was he going to pull Eren into this like he pulled Petra in, only for her to end up getting killed.
"Oh, come on! It could be fun."
"I'm not celebrating," he muttered.
"Do you sing? Is there special food? Maybe I can get us some wine."
"I'm not—" His voice instantly yanked back down. He cringed and whispered, "I just wanted to be away from those filthy people. I'm not celebrating it. Never again."
Eren pouted with empathy. "Levi," he sighed.
Levi stared off, lost in thoughts. The last time he celebrated...
* * *
He and Petra had read in the newspaper just a week earlier that Germany invaded Poland. As worrisome as that was, they were enjoying a lovely year. Their first wedding anniversary had just passed. Petra was pregnant, glowing with motherhood, and Levi found himself smiling more than he ever had in his life, watching her in the garden, lying together in bed late into the night, touching her belly and talking about what names they liked if the baby was a boy or a girl.
It was a special New Year for Jews: 5700. Levi told her about it, and Petra looked excited. Their baby would be born in a new century!
She wanted to celebrate. He gave in to her—he always did—and they had a traditional meal. She even invited another Jewish couple from the neighboring town. The husband had a shofar, and they blew the horn to mark the new year, wishing for peace to continue and their happy family life to start off right.
Two days later, Petra collapsed in agony with blood gushing between her legs. The miscarriage almost killed her. Levi was devastated, and it stung to hear her parents blaming his Jewish blood for the problem. He even overheard Petra's mother whispering that God did not want some half-Jewish baby to taint their family, and Petra should be cursed to barrenness for this vile marriage. Levi chose not to tell Petra about what her parents had said.
It took her months to recover, and the depression was the worst part. Levi might be a skilled fighter, but the emotions tormenting his wife were an invisible enemy he did not know how to defeat. All he could do was hold her and keep reassuring her that he was not going to run off just because of one miscarriage. They had time, they did not need to start a family right away, and he loved her no matter what.
Rather than an auspicious year, it was a year of pain, fear, and disbelief. They read about Germany invading France and saw pictures in the newspaper of Hitler in Paris. Nazi flags were hung up all around the town, and men in ominous black uniforms began to make their rounds. Before the next Rosh Hashanah, Levi and Petra were on the run, dodging Gestapo, and hiding in attics.
* * *
Levi stared ahead, remembering that last Rosh Hashanah. They had been so happy, just before terror rained down on them. He glanced over to Eren, and in those teal eyes he saw the same innocent curiosity. It hurt to see how much he was like Petra at times.
"We," he began, uncertain but giving in, once again. "We eat apples dipped in honey."
Eren hummed in confusion. "I know the word apple, because it's Apfel, but what is honey?"
"It comes from bees."
Eren still looked stumped, silently repeating the words bees and honey as he tried to translate it. "Oh! Do you mean Honig?" Now it was Levi who looked confused. "You know, Honig kommt von Bienen. Um, Bienen ... buzz-buzz," he said, making a buzzing sound. "Und Honig ... um ... sweet, you put it in hot drinks."
"Honey, yes."
"Honey," Eren repeated, committing the new word to memory. "So, Äpfeln und Honig, apples and honey. That's nice to eat."
"The idea is you eat sweet things for a sweet year."
"How nice! What else?" he asked in excitement.
Levi looked uncomfortable talking about it, but he muttered, "We blow a shofar. It's a ram's horn, I doubt you'll find anything like that here. We also..." A smile briefly tugged on his face, only to be shoved aside by a pinch to his brow. "We throw a rock or some bread into the river. It's sort of like throwing away your sins from the past year. On this day, God forgives all of it and washes you clean."
Eren smiled to see the wary happiness on Levi's face. It looked like he was thinking back to long-forgotten memories, maybe as far back as celebrations with his mother, his eyes drifting with a distant gaze into an ancient past.
Eren quietly offered, "I can get apples tomorrow, and I should be able to find honey. For now, we can walk down to the river tonight and toss in a rock. At least the canal; I don't think we can safely get to the main river."
Levi shook his head. "It's too dangerous."
"Well, I'm walking to the canal," Eren said stubbornly. "I have a lot of sins I wish I could wash away. You can come or not, your choice. I can't force you, but it would be nice if you were there with me."
Levi's eyes narrowed to slits. "You're going to be stubborn about this, aren't you?"
"Ja," Eren said with a boyish grin.
"Brat," Levi grumbled, hating that he felt so happy about Eren wanting to share this tradition with him. "Fine. Meet me by the fountains on the far end of the Esplanade. It's close to the canal."
Eren nodded and straightened up his uniform. Levi walked back over to the rope ladder, but he paused to look back at Eren.
He missed him! He did not think that he would become so attached to someone he had only known for a few months. He could barely remember the names of the men he served with in the military, nor the agents he worked with in the Deuxième Bureau. He sure as hell did not get all misty-eyed thinking about them. Eren was different.
"Hey," he called out. Eren paused and glanced back. "Be careful."
Eren confidently walked up to Levi, took his chin to tilt his head up, and gave him a soft, lingering kiss. "Same to you. Be safe out there."
Levi climbed into the attic and yanked the rope ladder up with him. He pulled the hatch down, surprised that it did not squeak anymore. Had Eren oiled it, even though Levi was not around to use it?
Eren continued to straighten his uniform, pulled on a coat, and grabbed an umbrella. With that, he left the hotel room with a bright smile on his face.
Levi was back! Everything felt right again.
# # #
# #
#
I'm posting early this week. I got my Covid shot, my arm is sore, I had chills all night, and I woke up feeling fatigued and feverish. Nothing bad, just like a mild cold. The chapter was already finished, so here we are. GET VACCINATED!
Thanks to spacepantherart on Tumblr for this fan art of Eren in uniform and Levi as a horrifically beaten prisoner. How visceral! Please go show them love.
https://spacepantherart.tumblr.com/post/640504545443774464/fanart-for-wildrhov-s-fanfic-dangerous
Levi is now wearing his outfit from "A Choice With No Regrets." Hopefully that was clear.
A reader pointed out, in Germany, wedding rings are worn on the RIGHT HAND, not the left. I changed this.
Lavender marriage – A marriage of convenience between a man and woman with the purpose of hiding the sexuality of one or both partners. The term has been around since the late 1800s, when the color lavender was associated with homosexuality. The practice became common in Hollywood from the 1920s up into the 1970s. Many studios had morality clauses, and they would blacklist any employee, from lead actor to costume designer, if they had attractions that were not purely heterosexual. In some cases, the studio or agency arranged the marriage to keep rumors out of tabloids, such as 1950s heartthrob Rock Hudson, whose agent arranged for him to marry his own secretary just to keep his homosexuality out of the news. The poor lady never knew he was gay until years after they divorced. She had been so deeply in love with Rock Hudson, she never remarried.
Adam and Chawwah – In Abrahamic religions, the first man and woman were, in English, Adam and Eve. אָדָם (ʾĀḏām) literally means "Man." חַוָּה (Ḥawwa) means "Life-Giver." Considering women are the source of life via pregnancy, that name makes sense. Her name is also spelled Ḥavvā, or in Yiddish it is Chawwah. (That doted Ḥ and the Ch- is a voiceless uvular fricative, or the "clearing the throat" sound you hear a lot in Hebrew). Since Ḥawwa is hard for most European languages to pronounce, the name was changed in translation and ended up as Eva, Ewa, Ève, Efa, Eabha, or Eve.
Rosh Hashanah – Jewish new year, typically landing around late September to October, on the first day of the month Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar. It is celebrated with the blowing of the shofar (ram's horn); eating sweet fruits like apples, pomegranates, dates, and gourds with honey; and the tradition of tashlikh, throwing a rock, piece of bread, or other item into running water like a river, to symbolize casting away the sins of the last year.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tashlikhhttps://ritualwell.org/ritual/tashlikh-ceremony
I found this article about Rosh Hashanah in 1944. This pertains to America, but it's a look at what was going on in the world as the Allies knew about the struggles of Jews in Europe, but did not yet know the full horrors of the Holocaust. They would come across the first death camp just a few months later.
https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/archives/rosh-hashanah-n-a-holocaust-controversy/article_a58acdad-cb1e-5b20-b8f0-e7a524ff08b0.html
New Year's Day
Julius Caesar changed the Roman calendar, and egocentrically called it the Julian Calendar after himself. One major change was to place the start of the civil year in the first month of the god Janus, two-headed god of doors, as you leave one year and pass through the doorway of time into a new year. The month of Janus became January.
Many ancient agricultural civilizations considered either autumn or spring to be the start of the new year. Celts, Semites, the Diné people (Navajo), and modern Wiccans celebrate the new year somewhere in the months of September or October (dates vary). Greeks, Persians, Japanese, and Chinese celebrate the new year in the spring. During the medieval period, most European Christians regarded Annunciation Day (March 25) as the beginning of the year.
In Israel, January 1st is just another work day, but some Jews celebrate it as "Sylvester." This holiday was traditionally a black-out, no candle was to be lit, no light turned on, and it was the one night where reading the Torah was forbidden. Why would Jews call it "Sylvester"? If you live in certain parts of Germany, Poland, Switzerland, or other countries that still celebrate it, the answer is obvious, but I sure didn't know. (I'm American and I'm not Catholic.)
December 31st is St. Sylvester's Day in the Roman Catholic calendar. Since ancient times, people stayed up for midnight mass and feasted, with celebrations later including fireworks, where we get the tradition of staying up until midnight for New Year's Day and your annoying neighbor who almost blows off his hand with bottle rockets.
The New Year's Eve and Day celebrations also included attacking synagogues, burning Hebrew books, hunting down Jews to torture them in public, and outright murder, all "in the name of the Christ." Because this was a known yearly attack against them, Jews would barricade their doors, not light any candles (thus the Torah could not be read at night), as families hid in the dark and hoped drunk Christians did not notice their hut in the midnight darkness.
What does attacking Jews have to do with Saint Sylvester's Day or New Year's Day? Well, it's two-fold. When he was Pope, Sylvester convinced Emperor Constantine to prohibit Jews from living in Jerusalem, further perpetuating the Diaspora (forced dispersion of Jews outside of Israel). Then, during the Council of Nicea, he approved of vicious anti-Semitic legislation. Some Jews say he is one of the most anti-Semitic Popes of all time. Catholics also celebrate January 1st as the day on which Jesus' circumcision initiated the reign of Christianity and the "death of Judaism." People took that literally by hunting Jews and putting them to death.
Jewish traditions are full of biblical commandments, but there are also these sorts of dark histories, a night of fear perpetuated over a thousand years, generation after generation, until some forget why they don't turn on the lights or read the Torah on Sylvester, and simply go out with their Gentile friends to party until midnight and rock in the New Year.