A lot of people associate Christmas with candy canes, chortling big-bellied Santas, sleighs, reindeer, snow, and beautifully decorated Christmas trees.

I associate Christmas with all of those things, too. But I grew up Jewish, so I also associate the holiday with crab rangoon and spicy yellow mustard. And bustling dining rooms adorned with ornate dragon sculptures and fish tanks. Stiff mai tais with little umbrellas. The smell of fried delights inspired by the Far East and the sound of Mandarin drifting out of a busy kitchen.

As an American Jew, there really is only one thing we do on Christmas: Go to a Chinese restaurant. It has been like that for me for as long as I can remember

Growing up, my family would always go to the same place every year in my hometown of Kansas City, a restaurant called Princess Garden.

The Chinese food, and maybe a movie — but mainly the Chinese food — is the absolutely essential component of the proper Jewish Christmas. Growing up, I never considered why we do this. “Tradition!,” as Tevye from “Fiddler on the Roof” would sing. So I left it at that. But when I sat down to write this column I had to look into it.

An oversimplified version of the story is that the American Jewish tradition of going to Chinese restaurants on Christmas appears to have begun at some point toward the latter part of the 19th century in New York City, where Jewish and Chinese immigrants lived close together. Jews ate at Chinese restaurants on Christmas because they were the only restaurants open, but over the decades, the tradition solidified into a holy bond between Chinese restaurant owners and Jewish customers. Dining rooms at Chinese restaurants from coast to coast have been packed for dinner on Christmas ever since.

This year I experienced my first proper Jewish Christmas here in Central Oregon. It included dinner at Yi’s Wok at 615 NW 6th Street, one of three restaurants open in Redmond on Christmas. I was surprised by how many other people in Redmond had the same idea as my dinner companions and I. The bustle made me feel right at home.

As we settled into a booth we warmed our bones with a pot of tea. I ordered one of the combination platters with egg foo young, a chicken and vegetable dish, and fried rice. The meal came with a bowl of egg drop soup. I got a Tsingtao lager to wash it down.

It took me two days to finish the leftovers. And the food was delicious. The experience made me feel satisfied that I could maintain the tradition here in my new home in Central Oregon. I was even able to catch a movie after dinner to cap it all off.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays! And don’t forget to support your local Chinese restaurant.