I've always wondered how maple leaves and syrup became such iconic symbols of Canada, since that tree won't grow in most of the country, certainly not here on the prairies. Oh well, we do have lots of beavers, even in the city, although I've never eaten one.... As a country of immigrants (or the descendants of immigrants), I'd say we tend to eat what is familiar, or failing that, what is available. My parents grew up here in Calgary in the '20s and '30s, when the only veggies eaten in the winter were potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage. Being mostly of UK descent, there was NEVER garlic in the house. No olive oil either. The fats of choice were butter, lard, and bacon grease. Mashed potatoes with every meal. I had never heard of, let alone eaten a bagel until I visited Montreal as a college student. But times change. Nowadays, pasta and rice are staples, not ethnic food. Hey, curries are pretty mainstream, as are perogies. I'm surprised how many folks I encounter don't know how to make mashed potatoes, although I think it was the New Brunswick bros McCain who invented oven fries, and everyone knows those. Tim Horton's has been much more successful than any political party in uniting the country as a national institution. I still remember when he was a hockey player...

since we've had kids we always stay home for christmas day. my mom and mil were big on this. mil- always had to travel across Ma. to her grandparents for the day. they got to be there for about 2-3 hrs and then return home. no presents from her grand parents and no chance to open them at home before they left. no turkey dinner either. pretty sad tale of woe, she didn't wish that sort of xmas on any one. my mom said it was important for us to have our own traditions. so we stay home. usually our family gets together sometime over the holidays, but no matter whose house we're at everyone has a 300-400 mile drive-- so we usually have to commit to a weekend of guests. my wife and i have always giving everyone in both our families an ornament for christmas. we try to stay under $5. for these, but are on the look-out whenever we travel during the year or pay attention to what people are interested in, or some significant event in their life that year. for the kids, it gives them a collection so when they leave home they have something for their own tree. for the adults it avoids having to buy a fan-tab-u-lous present. since we live the farthest away from all our relatives, ornaments are easy to ship. when kids were little we usually send their moms & dads a check so they could do the shopping for us, now we send the ornament and a gift card. we've tried a gift exchange where we draw names, but my youngest brother whose kids are 10-15 years younger than the rest of our kids thinks that his kids get gypted (everyone still gets his all kids presents, because they still get a big thrill out of opening them, and no one else has kids under 10 anymore)with this method--so we all get everyone a present-- an ornament works nicely there too. at home because my kids are autistic and don't deal with their routines being changed, we eat xmas dinner at dinnertime. so we have plenty of time in the morning to get up and open, play, watch tv, before we have to cook. we usually let the boys open their stocking(usually all the goodies are consumed for breakfast) as soon as they get up, but they wait until we get up to open presents under the tree. We we join the land of the living-- about 8am, we get out the cranberry bread, stollen and panetone the coffee and hot chocolate and start unwrapping: kids first, then mom and dad. about 11, we'll make 'brunch'-- eggs and sausage, toast and juice. then we get started at dinner. about 4pm we put out a relish tray and cheese and crackers so we can make it until dinner time. since my wife and i arew both in food service, and the week before christmas is the busiest time of the year. we usually have a tradition of doing laundry all day long every holiday while watching football games. on christmas eve we usually have seafood for dinner about 10:30 PM after finishing wrapping and then go to service at the church, so that when we get home we can go to bed!!!! sometimes we'll exchange a special present when we get home from church. diggerb

Loves to cook: We've used the same cookie recipe for decades...it's the rolled cookie recipe from Joy of Cooking. The dough handles beautifully, and rolls out very easily. This recipe is not as sweet as a sugar cookie...but the frosting compensates for that. The frosting is made from powdered sugar, butter and milk. And the gingerbread cookies are made from the Joy of Cooking gingerbread recipe.

I adore Gloria and Jay's home. The gestures are so big--like the inhabitants--and unabashedly modern. Big, big, BIG! I love that the decor and the architecture are wildly contemporary and expensive, and the extended family lives in it in such a comfortable way. No extra care for the furni$hings, no pretension at all. The only time the house seemed intimidating-modern was when Jay was "playing pool" (having a pissing contest) with Gloria's ex-husband. Then the house played right along with the drama.