Pictures today are from my long overdone décor….this is my living/dining room.
And we’re leading up to the big day with our continued look at the untypical of a TYPICAL CHRISTMAS……..
and we’re look at a bit more Outlander in our ever-on-going effort to survive DROUGHTLANDER which also isn’t TYPICAL but it is true.
OH I HAVE ALL THE FOOD BOUGHT, the presents wrapped, the cards were sent out on like the last of Nov….or most with a few sent later as had address issues. I HAVE BEEN working on cleaning my house and have only my bath and the kitchen to finish and that should be done tomorrow….oh and I sent checks this year or ordered presents from the supplier and had them shipped direct. Aren’t you proud of me?
Tinsel is not man-made. It is actually spider webs that turn to silver when spun on Christmas trees! THE QUEEN’S GAZETTE
So what else is typical about Christmas
The food for a typical American dinner could be turkey, but that’s more typical for Thanksgiving, while roast beef (I saw some lovely rib roast at the store this week) and/or ham are what Americans typically place on the table at this holiday time.
While in Finland Ham is often served as part of their “Christmas Table”–a board filed with all manner of food. But their ham is eaten with mustard along with other dishes. They also serve fish sometimes smoked salmon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_dinner
The Cooking Channel Site for Christmas ideas http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/christmas-dinner-recipes-ideas.html for dinner include
Salt Roasted Prime Rib of Beef
Grilled Lollipop Lamb Chops
Holiday Hens with Fig Glaze and Cornbread Stuffing
To name a few and if you’re searching for something less TYPICAL this year.
Oh and a bit on table typical–in Portugal they set places at the Christmas table for loved ones who have passed on as it is a time of remembrance.
The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society’s annual meeting. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace. History.com
Gingerbread has been popular since the ancient Greeks long before the birth we are celebrating this day and were very popular in England, shaped into animals and such and sold at Medieval Fairs and came to this country thru the colonist who settled in New England. Regional variations began occurring as more people arrived. “In Pennsylvania, the influence of German cooking was great and many traditional Germany gingerbreads reappeared in this area, especially at Christmas time.” http://wwwiz.com/issue04/wiz_d04.html And the rest is a tradition of gingerbread men and house which are so very popular and typical for our holiday offerings.
Some more unusual sweet that are typical to other parts of the world include
Cougnou is a sweet bread in the shape of the infant Jesus that is enjoyed in Belgium during the Christmas holidays
The Danes have a type of donut–with no hole and a bit more like a pancake–that’s sprinked with powdered sugar and served with jam….typically raspberry or strawberry.
In France they have Thirteen Desserts which represent Jesus and the 12 disciples and are served from Christmas Eve until December 27.
Oh in Scotland there’s the Whiskey Dundee…a light less moist than many Christmas cakes–it originated in Dundee and I will let you guess where it got the rest of its name.
The Christmas tree has an extensive history and numerous legends. Decorated trees may be traced back to the ancient Roman winter festival of Saturnalia. Trees were ornamented with pieces of metal in honor of Saturn the god of agriculture. U of I
In the US caroling has been traditional…though this tradition has been slowly dying out and is increasingly less common than it was. In fact this TYPICAL tradition only dates back to the 18th century…..though there was caroling in the 12th and 13th century—this Medieval tradition was used in processionals and had nothing to do with Christmas and while currently carols take some of their forms from these ancient singing they have little other shared tradition.
An old tradition in Wales—still celebrated in many areas and included in traditional celebrations at Tintern Abbey and St. David’s Palace is Plygain a service from 3 – 6 am on Christmas morning…it involves males singers without accompaniment singing carols in local (especially rural) chapels to see in the special day.
This year the singing tradition took a bizarre turn in Taiwan where ten Zembo robots took the stage and sang All I Want for Christmas is You–which the UK’s Daily Mail described as terrifying.
Stockings have been an essential part of the Christmas tradition for centuries (except, briefly, in the mid-1800s, when the New York Times wrote that Christmas trees almost completely supplanted them as the tradition of choice). Smithsonianmag.com
