Have You Heard Of The Holiday Feast During Christmas?
Author: admin / Category: EducationThe holiday feast is one of the oldest Christmas traditions that traces back seemingly forever. Some families may want to borrow from their cultural history, while others may choose a more modern Americana course selection. Regional pockets of the United States also add their own unique takes on Christmas season dinners. For instance, in the South, they have spice-rubbed turkey, corn pudding and sweet potato biscuits, and in New Mexico, they have romeritos made of dried shrimp and potatoes, tamales, sweet fritters and la vizcaina, which is made of salted cod, tomatoes, onions, peppers and olives. No matter which kind of feast is laid out this year, the richness of culture behind the Christmas feast has a seasoned past.
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.
Our global neighbors have their own renditions of the holiday feast too. For instance, France begins a lavish Christmas Eve meal following midnight mass, which extends until dawn, serving up soups, fruits, salads, fish, chicken, cheese, breads, nuts, candy and wine. Poland serves up a twelve-course meal (a dish for each one of the apostles), with beetroot (barszcz) soup and dumplings, herring, pike or carp, boiled potatoes, dumplings with mushrooms and cabbage, poppy seed and honey cakes, fruit compote, pierogi, beans, sauerkraut, babka, assorted pastries, nuts and candies. In Germany, they once served up boar’s head as a sacrifice for a good harvest, although this was later replaced by pork, roast beef, turkey and goose. Boiled chestnuts are popular in Holland, as are potatoes, red cabbage and pastries. Scandinavia serves up almond and rice pudding as well. In Wales, taffy is the traditional Christmas Day candy.
The holiday feast just wouldn’t be complete without Christmas candy! While today chocolate and candy are associated with everything from Christmas to Halloween, to Valentine’s Day to Easter, these treats were reserved only for holiday season treats for the wealthy because sugar was very expensive. The candy canes we so commonly chomp on today were originally manufactured as lozenges, and as medicine to treat coughs, colds and infections. Today, down the aisles of supermarkets, there are Christmas-themed chocolates, Peeps, M&Ms, Snickers bars, foil wrapped Santas, suckers and candies of all types marketed as Christmas gifts.