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The Holiday Feast
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Washington Irving was famous for his portrayal of the holiday feast, which some scholars say started as a myth and became tradition, while other scholars suggest it was an accurate rendition of the time period. "The table was literally loaded with good cheer, and presented an epitome of country abundance, in this season of overflowing larders," Irving writes. "A distinguished post was allotted to 'ancient sirloin,' as mine host termed it; being, as he added, 'the standard of old English hospitality, and a joint of goodly presence, and full of expectation.' There were several dishes quaintly decorated, and which had evidently something traditional in their embellishments; but about which, as I did not like to appear over-curious, I asked no questions." He spoke of a pheasant pie, peacock pie, buttered eggs, carp tongue pies, ambergris, wassail made with ale, roasted crabs, toast and other delicious items. In modern America, our Christmas season delicacies are a little different.
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The Christmas feast of modern Americans may include biscuits, stuffing, roast pork, ham, beef, turkey, goose, mincemeat pie, eggnog, roasted chestnuts and apple pie. In England, there were many similar findings at a Xmas party: cranberry sauce, turkey, ham, roast beef, stuffing, corn, squash, green beans, pumpkin pie, marzipan, pfeffernusse, sugar cookies, fruitcake and mince pie. In England, feasting on Christmas Day has largely fluctuated between fashionable and offensive.
For instance, Henry III had 600 oxen slaughtered for a feast in the mid 1200s, yet he also made it customary to give food to the poor. Following suit, Richard II feasted with over 10,000 guests. However, Martin Luther's Reformation struck down the season's decadent ways, replacing the parties with fasting and private prayer. It wasn't until Queen Victoria's reign that all of the Christmas feasting resumed. The Queen and her German-born husband, Prince Albert, dined on goose, turkey, roast beef, mince pie, Yorkshire pudding, plum pudding, eggnog and wassail.
In Mrs. Crowen's American Lady's Cookery Book, published in 1847, Mrs. TJ Crowen instructs young women how the holiday feast should be arranged. She first suggests placing "a high pyramid of evergreens in the center of the table," where a roast turkey of "uncommon size" will be placed on Christmas Day. This main course will be flanked by a cold boiled ham and a fricasseed chicken or boiled turkey with oyster sauce and oyster pie. Mashed potatoes, turnips, boiled onions, dressed celery, apple sauce, pickles and mangoes will all be placed near the ham. Next to the chicken, will sit oyster sauce, large pitchers of sweet cider will be placed diagonally on opposite ends of the table. For dessert, two large mince pies, ice cream, jams, pastry puffs, ripe fruits, nuts and wine were commonly present.
The baking of cookies for special holidays dates all the way back to Europe during the Middle Ages. The Dutch and Germans constructed decorative molds, Xmas cookie cutters and introduced the holiday decorations to America. According to McCall's Magazine, "By the 1500s, Christmas cookies had caught on all over Europe. German families baked up pans of Lebkuchen and buttery spritz cookies. Papparkakor (spicy ginger and black-pepper delights) were favorites in Sweden; the Norwegians made krumkake (thin lemon and cardamom-scented wafers). The earliest Christmas cookies in America came ashore with the Dutch in the early 1600s." In 1963, Betty Crocker's Cook Book recommended that women get together for an annual cookie swap party where each woman brings and shares a dozen festive cookies.
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Today's Tip On Christmas
Of the many engaging things that help to bring the magic of Christmas into our homes and hearts, is the festively decorated Christmas tree. It is often the central item and focal point of the Christmas holiday decorations found in most homes.
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Technorati Tags: Christmas, The Holiday Feast
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