Eating At Christmas
In An Old, Old Hahit
(By Gerard Tetley—Editor. The Danville. Va.. Bee»
The epicurean delights of Christmas—harder to get in this yea"—
have a strange pagan background.
History does not tell clearly when gastronomies began to be associ
ated with the day. But according to folklore, early in the Christian era
they were baking strange cakes in Estonia which resembled cradles
and they were roasting young pigs. The cakes were rarely eaten but
the crumbs were scattered on the*
land to promote fertility.
But the records from the days
of knighthood gave abundant
proof of the role which eating—
and drinking—played in the cele
bration in England and Europe.
Christmas revelry lasted for two
weeks on a scale comparable to
--
the Roman Saturnalia — revelry
marked by feasting and carousing
when the feudal chief held forth.
Boar's Head Special
Chief among Christmas dishes
in the baronial hall was boar's
head which was brought into the
vaulted refectory with trumpets.
Friendly Good Wishes
•r
for Christmas
and the New Yearf
DOROTHY’S
“The Only Shop on Lane's Way"
Today wc, even aa the wiae men of old, pay homage
to Him whoee birth we celebrate. May the blcaa
inga of happineaa and joy attend you thia Chriatmaa
Seeaon.
NORTH POLE BAKERY
pomp and panoply. It lay in a gold
and silver salver according to the
richness of the feudal lord. Epi
| cures insisted that it be served
1 with “rougish mustard" and with
j choice wines.
But culinary ability was put to
no sterner ta.-.: thu. ti'i tnc P ep
aration ot Argus—roasted peacock
—w’hich was supposed to be food
I lor lovers. This was brought into
the hall with ritual, too—accom
! panied by noble lords and ladies.
It was also something designed to
command attention, for the pea
cock first had been skinned and
the plumage retained intact. After
! ;he bird wras cooked it was again
! encased in its brilliant feathered
coat with the beak carefully gilded.
Other mediaeval dishes which
are part of the chronicle of time
included geese, capons and pheas
ants which were "drenched with
i ambergris” to say nothing of pies
of carps’ tongues.
One of the great Christmas
dishes of the Middle Ages was
; “frumenty.” This is w'hat the cooks
of the day were told to do:
"Take clean wheat and bray it
in a mortar that the hulls be all
gone off, and seethe it ’til it bursts.
Take it up and let it cool and take
clean fresh broth and sweetmilk of
almonds or kine and temper it all.
Then take the yolk of eggs, boil it
a little and set it down and mess
worth with fat venison or fresh
mutton.”
Mince and Mutton
The mince pie ‘chief among the
causes of childish Christmas an
guish* was known as mutton pie
as early as 1596. The mutton pie
graduated into a piece of neats’
tongues, spiced and flavored,
whence finally emerged the mince
pie as it is known today.
But the progenitor of the pride
and glory of Christmas dinner
made famous by the prose of
Washington Irving and Dickens
was the plum pudding which, like
many Christmas edibles, was sub
ject to progressive treatment as
time marched on. First reference
is made to it as plum porridge or
pottage and unlike its heavy de
scendant, it was served as the first
course.
Liquid refreshment in the early
days ran the whole gamut of the
wine lists—different vintages for
each course, heavy stouts, light!
barley ales, to say nothing of the
cordials offered unblushingly as
gastronomic aids than for enjoy
ment of drinking.
A thirteenth century carolist de
voted a ballad to the bibulous ten
dencies. He sang:
"Lordling, Christmas loves goou
drinking
"Wines of Cascoigne, France,
Anjou
"English ale that drowns out
thinking
"Prince of liquors, old and new
"Every neighbor shares the bowl
"Drinks of the spicy liquor deep
"Drinks his fill without control
"Till he drowns his care in
sleep."
SANTA'S HOME
To illustrate Clement Clark
Moore’s poem: “A Visit to St.
Nicholas,” Thomas Nash located
Santa’s home at the North Pole
and gave him a sleigh drawn by
reindeer. He drew the familiar
fat, merry old fellow with red
cheeks and white beard, dressed
in red, wearing a cap and boots,
carrying a pack of toys and smok
ing a short pipe. Santa was given
a spy glass to locate the good
children, and a book in which to
enter their names.
A Christmas Legend
There is a little legend
Which Orient nations tell,
That when the earth is joyous
With song of Christmas bell,
Unseen the Christ-Child wanders
Among the suffering dumb
And brings them joyous tidings
Of kinder years to come.
For was He not once sheltered
With cattle of the stall?
' nd does He not remember
Earth’s helpless creatures all?
And did the Star not beckon
Above them on that night,
Instead of o’er a palace ^
Aflame with gorgeous light?
—Alice Jean Cleator
ANGEL
As the shepherds were abiding
in the field the night Christ was
born “the angel of the Lord came
upon them” and told them of the
birth of Christ in nearby Bethle-*.
hem.
Happy Holidays
That your Christmas be a happy one and the New
Year bright with promise is our sincere wish to our
friends.
Glenn Carrington & Co.
Santa says:
“Let's do something drastic.
Let's trip the light fantastic;
Rosy reindeer sets the pace.
And they dance with Yuletide grace."
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO OUR FRIENDS!
POLAR BAR