Christmas Traditions
CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS.
Christmas pudding, also called plum pudding although it contains no plums at all, is traditionally steamed-cooked in a cloth on “stir-up Sunday” at the beginning of advent.
The pudding is traditionally stirred from east to west in honour of the 3 wise men and each family member gives the pudding a stir and makes a secret wish.
Sometimes a clean shilling or six penny piece is stirred into the pudding bringing luck to the finder on Christmas day - as long as its not swallowed.
Mince pies were originally made from mince meat and were shaped like a crib and decorated into a tiny baby Jesus. Nowadays, mince pies are similar in shape but contain a sweet fruit filling.
Christmas Dinner.
The majority of families (90%) around the UK will serve up a succulent roast turkey as the centre piece of their festive meal this Christmas.
Turkey is a relative newcomer to the Yuletide table - it was a luxury right up until the 1950’s when refrigerators and freezers became more widely available.
It was first brought over to the British Isles in 1526 by Yorkshirman William Strickland who acquired six birds from American Indian traders on his travels and sold them for a tuppence each in Bristol.
Prior to the turkey tradition Christmas fare included roast swan, pheasants and peacocks. A special treat was a roast boars head decorated with holly and fruit.
Christmas Cards & Stockings.
The first known Christmas card was created by JC Horsley in 1843 in America but was not printed until 1946.
The concept of sending cards at Christmas only started to catch on in the 1860’s.
The tradition of filling a stocking with presents was also started in America at about the same time and was first mentioned in the Oxford Dictionary in 1954.
Wassailing the apple tree is one of the oldest traditions at Christmas time and is still carried out in Hertfordshire and parts of the west country.
The word wassail is from the Anglo Saxon word “wes hal” meaning “good health” or “be whole”.
The tradition generally takes place on the 12th night or sometimes on the 17th January, known as old twelfth night.
Farmers and their families feast on hot cakes and cider then go into the orchard where a cider soaked cake is laid in the fork of a tree and more cider is splashed on it.
A wassail bowl, often as big as a cauldron is filled with the mixture of cider, brandy, ale, spice and drunk hot. The menfolk then fire their guns into the trees and bang on pots and pans while the women and children bow their heads and sing a wassail song.
This is to ward off bad spirits from the orchard and encourage the good spirits to provide a lush crop for the following year.
Culinary Christmas Traditions.
Wales: Leek and onion sauce to accompany the turkey. Leeks, onion, cloves, breadcrumbs, milk, nutmeg and bay leaves blended to create a thick and creamy alternative to ordinary bread sauce.Scotland - Rich tatties and neeps - a traditional dish made with mashed potatoes, Swede, carrots, onion and butter, garnished with chives and black pepper.
Ireland: Turkey with whiskey glaze - whiskey and honey together with a splash of orange will give an impressive and great tasting twist to the traditional bird.
England: Red cabbage with apple - combining English Bramley apples, red cabbage, cinnamon and brown sugar with a splash of Port or Madeira.
Why decorate fir trees?
This can be traced back to Roman times but was thought to be first introduced into this country in 1841 by Prince Albert. The custom of hanging fruit and baubles is both pagan and Christian. The decorations were originally used to symbolise the fruits of the earth and the fiery sun. Today seen in the form of tinsel and baubles.
Why a “kiss under the Mistletoe”?
Mistletoe has a magical reputation of conferring fertility. The berries grow in pairs on the stem and their milky, translucent appearance suggests male sexuality! A kissing bough would be suspended from a hook at the beginning of the Christmas season and young men were permitted to kiss any girl they managed to draw under the bough. These unsuitable associations led to many churches banning it and this still exists today in numerous parishes.
Why crackers and paper hats?
The earliest crackers were introduced in the 1850’s in order to copy the Parisian fashion of gift-wrapping bon bons. They contained novelties and mottos but did not crack - the chemically treated paper that cracks was a later addition. Paper hats were introduced at a similar time but the tradition of wearing a hat to look foolish dates back to the Christmas plays of the middle ages.
Christmas Around The World.
Henry VIII was the first English king to enjoy turkey, although Edward VII made eating turkey fashionable at Christmas. Indeed turkey was a luxury right up until the 1950’s when refrigerators became commonplace. However, traditions for many countries around the globe vary enormously where the centrepiece can range from pork chops to curried goat!
Norway: The big festive feast takes place on Christmas Eve. Most people around the coastal regions eat fish - concoctions of cod and haddock and a variety called lutefisk. Inland they go for pork chops, specially prepared sausages and occasionally lamb.
Sweden: The Christmas feast consists of a smorgasbord of caviar, shellfish, cooked and raw fish and cheeses.
Ukraine: The people here prepare huge broths brimming with meat for Christmas Eve rather than Christmas day.
Czech Republic: Tradition dictates that the tree is not lit before Christmas Eve then they have a big dinner of fish soup, salads, eggs and carp. Scarily, the number of people at the table must be even or it is believed the person without a partner will die next year.
Germany: The Germans tend to have a game feast on Christmas day, usually wild boar or venison.
Jamaica: Christmas dinner usually consists of rice, gungo peas, chicken, ox tail and curried goat.
Italy: Christmas dinner in Italy can last for more than 4 hours. Most families will have 7 or more courses including antipasti, a small portion of pasta, a roast meal, followed by 2 salads and 2 sweet puddings - then cheese fruit, brandy and chocolates.
Austria: A typical Christmas dinner would consist of braised carp served with gingerbread and beer sauce.
Poland: The traditional Christmas Eve supper consists of 12 non-meat dishes, representing the months of the year and featuring fish such as pike, herring and carp. Other typical Polish dishes are fish soup, sauerkraut with wild mushrooms or peas and Polish dumplings with various fillings.
To track Santa’s journey to the Isle of Wight on Christmas Eve, Click HERE:
Have a Happy Wight Christmas.
