Being a descendant of a religious minority group can often be a difficult life. This fact is exactly what we see in the autobiography "Magic", as we see Christmas through the eyes of a young Jewish girl.
             The story is set in a middleclass environment in America, and takes place during a Christmas holiday, which is shown very clear by the fact, that the houses are decorated with lots of lights and ornaments. The narrator lives in a loving and caring environment, but her parents do not have that much money as a result of the father's pharmacy going through some hard times. But even though this is family with very little goods, they are concerned about one another – we see this, as the narrator is ill with fever. At this time, the mother takes good care of her daughter, and spends a lot of time with her, to make time pass.
             The narrator‘s feelings towards Christmas are undeniable. She simply loves it, and every year when December comes, her stomach fills with a childish envy towards her best, and non Jewish, friend Marie. Her parents know this, which is the reason they let her stay at Marie‘s house on every Christmas Eve - letting her get just a bit of Christmas. But as she says "none of these things were mine. I had to be careful around them". We see that she probably does not feel like she completely fits in there, and that she has been taught not to get too used to these things. Carrying around there thoughts, she gets clumsy around the fragile ornaments. The Piscatellies are not officious with this because they understand how she must feel. They simply let her stay at their house and in return the narrator acts politely and "took seconds of the pastries", maybe to show the hostess that she fancies her Christmas cookies, and that she is truly grateful, that she is allowed just a bit of the Christmas spirit every year, even though she is Jewish.
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