Moving into December

We had a great Thanksgiving at the house filled with friends from all areas of our lives. 

We had fourteen for dinner and quite the spread. 

There was also plenty of game playing afterward. 

As soon as we cleared our Thanksgiving decorations, Advent started and we were ready to greet Santa Claus as he arrived on the roof of the Hawthorne. 

Violet, Avonlea Jane, Justin, Emily, and William

Excited to get some hot chocolate and then get home to put out her shoes for St. Nicholas day. 

When we got home, the kids put out their shoes and letters for St. Nicholas. Upon waking, they found their shoes full of goodies and and breakfast of croziers and sheep. 

On Sunday, we celebrated St. Nicholas by hosting a Christmas Around the World fellowship at church.  This was our second year hosting this fellowship, and both times it has been a smash hit. While it means our kitchen is in overdrive (and then a disaster) for a week, we love to share one of our favorite days. 

December 6 was St. Nicholas Day, a very important day of celebration for our family and many others around the world.

The legend of Nicholas, the 4^th-century Turkish bishop, has given birth to numerous international versions of Father Christmas and an even greater number of ways to celebrate this season. In hosting this Sunday’s fellowship, we wanted to bring some of those holiday traditions to you.

We hope you enjoy, and should you celebrate this season with Sinterklaas, Svatý Mikkuláš, Samichlaus, Santa Claus, Joulupukki, Ded Moroz, Pere Noel, Weihnachtsmann, Viejo Pascuero, Julenissen, or St. Nicholas, we hope your holidays are full of the glad tidings and spirit of generosity that made him worthy of such a legacy.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Radishes—Mexico

Radishes made their way to Mexico in the 16^th century. The local market vendors used carved radishes to invite people inside their stores. From this tradition was born Noche de rábanos, “Night of the Radishes,” a Mexican festival lasting from December 23 to Christmas celebrating all things radish.

Feliz Navidad!

Herring—Ukraine, Germany, Poland

While abstaining from meat during the season of Advent, herring became a popular dish in many European countries. It was believed that eating herring on Christmas Eve or at the stroke of midnight on New Year's would bring good luck in the coming year.

Speculaas—Netherlands

Speculaas is a type of spiced shortcrust biscuit, traditionally baked for consumption on or just before the feast of St. Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, in the Netherlands. The name for the cookies is thought to have derived from the Latin speculum, which means mirror, and refers to the fact that the images are cut as a mirrored  bas-relief into a wooden stamp which is then used to decorate the Speculaas.

Prettige Kerstfeest!

Stollen—Germany, Austria

Stollen is a traditional  German cake, usually eaten during the Christmas season, when it is called  Weihnachtsstollen  or  Christstollen. The Stollen was designed to symbolize the Infant Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes. Not only could it be eaten for Christmas but also on December 6, when it is Nikolaustag, or Saint Nicholas Day.

Frohe Weihnachten!

Lychee—South Pacific

Throughout the South Pacific, lychee season begins in October. By the time Christmas arrives in December, the streets are littered with empty lychee nuts. The fruit features prominently on many Christmas tables and in cocktails and desserts. 

Christmas pickle—Germany/U.S.

Popular stories say the Christmas pickle is an old German tradition. A decoration in the shape of a pickle is hidden on a Christmas tree, with the finder receiving either a reward or good fortune for the following year. Despite its German reputation, it has been suggested that the origin of the Christmas pickle may have been developed for marketing purposes in the 1890s to coincide with the importation of glass Christmas tree decorations from Germany to the United States.

Frohe Weihnachten!

Bûche de Noël is my favorite thing to make for the fellowship. 

Bûche de Noël—France

The yule log, or bûche de Noël, is a tradition dating back centuries with the celebration of the Winter Solstice Dating and the coming of longer days. To welcome the New Year and relieve the air of last year’s events, families would burn logs that were garnished in holly, pinecones, or ivy. They would then keep the ashes from this log, as they were said to be good luck. The name bûche de Noël was transferred to the dessert only after the actual log custom had fallen out of use, presumably during the first half of the 20th century.

Joyeux Noël!

Cheese and vegetable Christmas trees, plus shortbread

The Christmas Tree

The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands to symbolize eternal life was a custom of the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. Tree worship was common among pagan Europeans and survived their conversion to Christianity in the Scandinavian customs of decorating the house and barn with evergreens at the New Year to scare away the devil and of setting up a tree for the birds during Christmastime. Our modern Christmas tree usage is most similar to the Yule-tree decorating, dating back to 15^th-century Germany. 

Ghryba—Egypt 

These flaky almond cookies are an Egyptian celebration staple. Fifteen percent of Egyptians are Christian and enjoy these cookies at Easter and Christmas, which is celebrated on January 7. For the 43 days before this celebration, only a vegan diet—the Holy Nativity Fast—is eaten.

عيد ميلاد مجيد

Mandarins, candy canes, and fruit cake (for which we forgot to make a little sign explaining the holiday history of the dish)

Candy canes

According to a popular account, candy canes originated in 1672, in Cologne, Germany. The choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral, wishing to remedy the noise caused by children in his church during the Living Crèche tradition of Christmas Eve, asked a local candy maker for some sweet sticks for them. In order to justify the practice of giving candy to children during worship services, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to the top of each stick, which would help children remember the shepherds who paid visit to infant Jesus.

Mandarins—Japan

For Christmas, many Japanese families will keep a bowl of Mandarins or clementines on the table. These orange varieties are also known as the “Thanksgiving Oranges” or “Christmas oranges,” as their peak season is winter. 

The popularity of Christmas citrus was a spreading trend. In Europe, oranges for Christmas come from the story of St. Nicholas. Folklore has it that in 4th-century Turkey, Bishop Nicholas dropped three bags of gold coins down the chimney of a poor family with three daughters to give them each a needed dowry. The bags of gold landed in stockings the girls had hung to dry by their fireplace. The heat from the fire, the myth continues, melted the gold coins into gold balls, which today is symbolized with oranges.

In the United States, Oranges from California and Florida had become commonplace winter fruits throughout the United States by the 1880s. At the time, the newly completed transcontinental railroad made it possible to ship these long-lasting fruits great distances, supplying people in far-flung regions with delicious, nutritious food in the dead of winter.

メリークリスマス

Pirozhki—Russia

There are many varieties of pirozhki from those similar to a stuffed bun to those more like a dumpling. They can be filled with meat, fish, cheese, potatoes, or even sweets. Pirozhki are commonly served at a Russian Christmas dinner, generally celebrated on January 7. This is when Ded Moroz (Father Frost) brings presents to children along with his granddaughter, Snegurochka. When they appear, the star and other lights on the Christmas tree light up.

Счастливого рождества!

Turrón—Spain

This almond nougat dish was derived from the cuisine of Iberian Muslims during the Christian reconquest of Spain. Versions of this dish have been made since the 4th century, BC. The most famous turrón has been made since the 15th century in in the city of Jijona/Xixona (formerly Sexona), north of Alicante. Many varieties still exist. Turrón can be hard, soft, light, dark, smooth, or full of almonds.

Feliz Navidad!

Akoho sy voania with rice—Madagascar

Akoho sy voania, a chicken and coconut milk stew, is a Malagasy specialty served over rice at Christmas time while awaiting the visit of Dadabe Noely. Though Christmas is warm in Madagascar, decorations will include holly, robins, and snow, even though none of them exist in the country. Poinsettias are also the country’s national emblem and grow as large outdoor shrubs.

Mirary Krismasy!

Spiced hot chocolate (with whipped cream or marshmallows)—Peru

In Peru, spiced hot chocolate is a Christmas tradition, even though the holiday falls in the summer. The first hot chocolate was made by the Mayas about 2,000 years ago, though now the drink is sweeter from the addition of sugar. In December, churches around the country take donations to make massive quantities of it, as well as panetón or panettone, a traditional Italian holiday bread. Both are served to the less fortunate at a chocolotada in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Feliz Navidad!

Panettone—Italy

Panettone is a treat from Milan usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year’s. It is a Christmas dinner staple and in some places replaces the Roscón de Reyes/Bolo Rei (King cake) on La Festa dell'Epifania, or Epiphany. In addition to celebrating La Festa di San Nicola, and Natale (Christmas), Epiphany is a large occasion in Italy. It is the day when La Befana, the kindly old witch, appears to bring the children toys. According to legend, the Three Wise Men stopped at her hut to ask directions on their way to Bethlehem and to invite her to join them. She refused, and later a shepherd asked her to join him in paying respect to the Christ Child. Again she refused, and when night fell she saw a great light in the skies. La Befana thought perhaps she should have gone with the Three Wise Men, so she gathered some toys that had belonged to her own child, who had died, and ran to find the kings and the shepherd. But La Befana could not find them or the stable. Now, each year she looks for the Christ Child. Since she cannot find him, she leaves gifts for the children of Italy and pieces of coal for the bad ones.

Buon Natale!

Buñuelos —Columbia

Buñuelos are of Hispanic origin and different versions are popular all over Latin America. The Columbian varieties are savory cheese fritters made of farmers cheese or queso fresco. It is a traditional Christmas dish, served along with natillas—a custard dish—and manjar blanco—a dish similar to dulce de leche.

Feliz Navidad!

Pavlova—Australia

In Australia and the rest of the Southern Hemisphere, December falls in the heat of summer. Thus, Christmas celebrations feature more foods that can be eaten cold or at room temperature. A favorite dessert for the season is Pavlova, a meringue-based dish named after Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. The dessert is believed to have been created in her honor either during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. 

Wassail—England

Wæs hæl literally means “Be you healthy.” It refers both to the salute “Waes Hail” and to the drink of wassail, a hot mulled cider traditionally drunk as an integral part of wassailing, an ancient southern English drinking ritual intended to ensure a good cider apple harvest the following year. A popular date for wassailing was on Twelfth Night, and it is now immortalized in holiday songs “Gloucestershire Wassail” and “Here We Come A-wassailing.”

Happy Christmas!

Gløgg and Pepparkakor –Sweden

Gløgg is the spicy warm drink of Swedish Advent. Traditionally, it is served with raisins and almonds in the cup. The practice of spicing the wine began to conceal wine that had turned. The name gløgg originates with the old method of making the drink: one “glowed” it. You would pour wine and spirits over a sugarloaf on a mesh over the spices in your cooking pot. When the sugar was saturated, you struck a flame, were upon the spirit caught fire and the sugar melted. 

Gløgg is almost always served in combination with pepparkakor. These Swedish ginger snaps are used both as an edible treat on St. Lucia Day, December 13, and for holiday window decorations. To celebrate bringing light into the darkest days of winter, custom involves the eldest daughter arising early and wearing her Lucy garb of white robe, red sash, and a wire crown covered with whortleberry-twigs with nine lighted candles. She awakens the family, serving them coffee and St. Lucia buns, thus ushering in the Christmas season.

God Jule!

Hamborgarhryggur —Iceland

A hamborgarhryggur is a smoked rack of pork. While the dish finds its roots in Danish cuisine, it has long been adopted as an Icelandic Christmas tradition.

In Iceland, not only does Jólasveinn, the Yule Man, come, but so do the Jólasveinar, or Yuletide Lads. From December 12 until Yule Eve, a different lad will arrive. When they come, they eat a lot and play tricks around the house before leaving presents in the shoes children have placed on the windowsill. They start to go home on Yule, with the last one leaving on Þrettándinn, or Epiphany.

Gleðileg jól'!

At a neighborhood sing-along and cookie reception

Celebrating Hanukkah with our friends Sara and Kelly