I don't remember anything particularly traditional when I was growing up, but my parents divorced when I was 14, and then we had to craft a few traditions to survive that time. We spent Christmas Eve with Dad, and returned home for Christmas Day with Mom. The first Christmas Eve was horrible, Dad didn't have a tree or decorations, and we went out to eat. It was like th scene in The Santa Clause. They were out of everything and rather surly since none of them wanted to be working.

Later that evening I went out to his yard, cut a twig off of a nearby Doug fir, poked it into a coke bottle that I then taped to the floor to hold it up. I told Dad he had to do something about a tree or at least decorations the next year. He did better the next year, and from my limited repertoir I offered to cook roast beef. But after that he got the hang of it and he always bought a salmon from one of the local Tulailup (Indian) fishermen and we baked that. Wonderful!

Now I'm preparing to smoke two large salmon, bought frozen a couple of days ago. I was hoping to start them this afternoon but it has rained steadily. I'll put up a tarp and the smoker under it. I hadn't thought about this connection until just now, so thanks for the question, Mary! I'll tip a glass of wine your way when we have salmon on Christmas Eve (I now am divorced, but far more amicably than my parents, and I'll send some over to his house when my children spend their Christmas Eve with him. I may not have gotten the process of marriage down, but I do a great job at "divorced!").

Maggie