Both my parents are Presbyterian pastors, so the holidays aren’t quite the vacation season for my family that they tend to be for others. The month of December is joyfully filled with Christmas workshops, volunteering, planning for worship services, choir rehearsals and detailed planning of everyone’s schedule. On Christmas Day, though, everything slows for a morning of hot coffee and our traditional breakfast: a spread of fresh bagels and lox alongside slices of my mother’s cranberry nut bread. We go back and forth, from munching on the savory bagels to the sweet bread, until they both run out.

Throughout my life, my family has lived in many different homes and cooked holiday meals in many different kitchens. This tradition follows us to each new place to remind us where we started and where we come back to each Christmas.