Winter! holidays! birth of the Christ child! presents! Yes, Christmas is here again! However, there can be no festivity without the inevitable Christmas fruit cake, can there?
Since the civilisation of man, he has felt the need to celebrate as a community from time to time. And since all of man's activities concern food in one way or the other, all his important events are inextricably linked with food. Therefore, festivals mean special food throughout the world. Honestly, when you think of festivals you celebrated as a child, you might have hazy memories of some rites and rituals. But I'm sure you remember the feasts that followed pretty well.
Who can forget the table groaning with all kinds of delicious concoctions, eating until you're bloated, napping, then eating again?
For me, Christmas used to be all about rose cookies or acchappam. You see, I'm Hindu and my best friend is Christian. When we were in school, for Deepavali, I would give her the sweet that was made at home, i.e., Mysore Rock, sorry, make that Mysore Pak. And on Christmas, she would give me their house Christmas special – chakkulis and rose cookies. Those days, chakkulis were available in the market, but not rose cookies, which were hard to make. My friend's family would make this very hard recipe only for this occasion, so I always looked forward to Christmas.
It is actually the same throughout the world. The food that is prepared to celebrate the birth of Christ is usually elaborate and labour-intensive. The ingredients used may be seasonal or special in some other way; they may be expensive, or part of the local culture. But the one thing common to all is tradition.
Anchor to the past
In the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, i.e., Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania, they have an elaborate meal of 12 meatless dishes on Christmas Eve to signify fasting, which is broken on Christmas Day. As a part of their Slavic culture, they honour their ancestors by setting a place at the table and dishing out food for them.
While lamb or mutton is common throughout the world, in Norway, a whole sheep's head is served salted and dried, smoked and boiled or steamed, for the Christmas feast. In nearby Sweden, they have a Swedish julebord or 'Christmas table', with glazed ham. Janssons frestelse (Jansson's temptation) is a potato gratin dish made with pickled anchovies, sprats or small herrings, which are a Christmas favourite. Meanwhile, in Iceland, they usually have laufabraud or leaf bread, which is a crisp flatbread. All these countries enjoy mulled wine called glogg.
Closer to home
The Japanese don't actually celebrate Christmas. But they do have a tradition of dining out… in KFC! You have to take out reservations in advance because the restaurant can be booked weeks in advance. You can even have expensive packages with table service and alcohol. And in the US, American Jews have a habit of eating in Chinese restaurants, mainly because all others are usually closed.
Who can forget the table groaning with all kinds of delicious concoctions, eating until you're bloated, napping, then eating again?
India too has its own Christmas traditional foods. Syrian Christian tradition is duck roast, homemade grape wine, and plum cake. Goans love to eat sorpotel, a thick curry made a few days ahead with pork and liver, and served with pulav or sannas or rice cakes. Meanwhile, Anglo-Indians love homemade ham and stew made with mutton or beef and vegetables. In all feasts, wines made at home from gooseberry, grape, ginger, lemon and even jackfruit are a must.
India too has its own Christmas traditional foods. Syrian Christian tradition is duck roast, homemade grape wine, and plum cake. Goans love to eat sorpotel, a thick curry made a few days ahead with pork and liver, and served with pulav or sannas or rice cakes. Meanwhile, Anglo-Indians love homemade ham and stew made with mutton or beef and vegetables. In all feasts, wines made at home from gooseberry, grape, ginger, lemon and even jackfruit are a must.
The Japanese don't actually celebrate Christmas. But they do have a tradition of dining out… in KFC! You have to take out reservations in advance because the restaurant can be booked weeks in advance. You can even have expensive packages with table service and alcohol.
Anglo-Indian families have their own recipes for Christmas cake, which are usually handed down generations. The candied fruit to be used in such cakes - plums, currants, raisins and orange peel - are cut and soaked in rum or brandy a few weeks ahead of actual use. There is one other Christmas tradition throughout the world when it comes to food – sharing! No one goes to great lengths to prepare their special, time-honoured recipes to eat by themselves. Sharing adds a taste, a spice, a piquancy that transforms a good meal into a great memory.
You can even have expensive packages with table service and alcohol. And in the US, American Jews have a habit of eating in Chinese restaurants, mainly because all others are usually closed.
Christmas is a time to share good cheer, happy times and hope for the future. May your Christmas be full of cheer and sharing! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you!