We wouldn’t be in New Orleans this year. Our old neighborhood was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Luckily I had room in my home in St. Louis to take them all in.
My family had lived in New Orleans for generations, including the last 50 years in the Lower Ninth Ward. I hadn’t lived in the city since 1969, but I visited often and Christmas was still defined in my mind by the city’s traditions. On December 25 we made the rounds to our friends’ houses, enjoying a drink, tasting their gumbo, and feasting on mirliton, sweet potatoes and red velvet cake.
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