Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

History of gingerbread

Volumes exist on the origins of gingerbread. For these purposes, suffice it to say an early form of gingerbread can be traced to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians who used it for ceremonial purposes. Gingerbread made an appearance in Europe when 11th-century crusaders brought the spice back from the Middle East for the rich folks' cooks to experiment with.

As ginger and other spices became more affordable to the masses, gingerbread caught on. An early European recipe consisted of ground almonds, stale breadcrumbs, rosewater, sugar and, naturally, ginger.

The resultant paste was pressed into wooden molds. These carved works of art served as a sort of story board that told the news of the day, bearing the likeness of new kings, emperors and queens, or religious symbols. The finished cookie might be decorated with edible gold paint (for those who could afford it) or flat white icing to bring out the details in relief.

In the 16th century, the English replaced the breadcrumbs with flour, and added eggs and sweeteners, resulting in a lighter product. The first gingerbread man is credited to Queen Elizabeth I, who knocked the socks off visiting dignitaries by presenting them with one baked in their own likeness. Gingerbread tied with ribbon was popular at fairs and, when exchanged, became a token of love. On a more practical note, before refrigeration was a twinkle in someone's eye, aromatic crumbled gingerbread was added to recipes to mask the odor of decaying meat.

History of Mincemeat

Mincemeat developed as a way of preserving meat without salting or smoking some 500 years ago in England, where mince pies are still considered an essential accompaniment to holiday dinners just like the traditional plum pudding. This pie is a remnant of a medieval tradition of spiced meat dishes, usually minced mutton, that have survived because of its association with Christmas. This pies have also been known as Christmas Pies. Mince pie as part of the Christmas table had long been an English custom.

Today, we are accustomed to eating mince pie as a dessert, but actually "minced" pie and its follow-up "mincemeat pie" began as a main course dish with with more meat than fruit (a mixture of meat, dried fruits, and spices). As fruits and spices became more plentiful in the 17th century, the spiciness of the pies increased accordingly.

History of the Candy Cane

According to legend there was a candy maker who wanted to invent a candy that was a witness to Christ.

First of all, he used a hard candy because Christ is the rock of ages. This hard candy was shaped so that it would resemble a "J" for Jesus or, turned upside down, a shepherd's staff. He made it white to represent the purity of Christ.

Finally a red stripe was added to represent the blood Christ shed for the sins of the world, and thinner red stripes for the stripes He received on our behalf when the Roman soldiers whipped Him. Sometimes a green stripe is added as a reminder that Jesus is a gift from God.

The flavor of the cane is peppermint, which is similar to hyssop. Hyssop is in the mint family and was used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice. Jesus is the pure Lamb of God, come to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

The History of Eggnog

In getting with the Holiday spirit, we're going to post a few tidbits about the season for your enjoyment.

Many believe that eggnog is a tradition that was brought to America from Europe. This is partially true. Eggnog is related to various milk and wine punches that had been concocted long ago in the "Old World". However, in America a new twist was put on the theme. Rum was used in the place of wine. In Colonial America, rum was commonly called "grog", so the name eggnog is likely derived from the very descriptive term for this drink, "egg-and-grog", which corrupted to egg'n'grog and soon to eggnog. At least this is one version...

Other experts would have it that the "nog" of eggnog comes from the word "noggin". A noggin was a small, wooden, carved mug. It was used to serve drinks at table in taverns (while drinks beside the fire were served in tankards). It is thought that eggnog started out as a mixture of Spanish "Sherry" and milk. The English called this concoction "Dry sack posset". It is very easy to see how an egg drink in a noggin could become eggnog. The true story might be a mixture of the two and eggnog was originally called "egg and grog in a noggin". This was a term that required shortening if ever there was one.

Holiday Traditions

With the holiday season fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to see what traditions writers did besides putting up the Christmas tree and decorations.

Loretta Brabant--My favourite holiday activity is eating.

Shellie Foltz--One of my favorite holiday traditions is to fix a nice fireside supper for just my husband and myself sometime during the weekend before Christmas. Everything else is so hectic and involves parties and groups - it's the one time during the season it's just we two (although this year our new baby - Natalie, a stray we adopted over the summer - will be joining us).

Leann Harris--For the last several years my older children, my husband and I after the early Christmas Eve service have a dinner at the house and then go to a movie. Christmas morning we make pumpkin pancakes before presents. Now remember, these are teenage kids.

Helen King--We have no family in town, so my husband and I created some of our own. :)

On Christmas Eve we go to Zoo Lights. We get a big bag of kettle corn and eat our way through the exhibits. We usually watch the dancing trees at least twice. If it's cold enough we'll get hot chocolate. We love going there that night.

Santa hides the boys' present and they must follow the trail of clues to see what he left. In past years the clues have sent them all over the house, outside, in the fridge and under the dog's dish. There is usually 5-7 clues to discover before they get their prize. It's so much fun

Jane Myers Perrine--Going to the Christmas Eve church service.

Laurie Alice Eakes--Christmas morning was always a ritual. We would wake to coffee and cocoa, cinnamon and pecan rolls, and fruit, then open presents. Each person gets a present before the round starts again.

As for preChristmas, we put up the tree the first Saturday of December. Pine trees make me break out in a rash if I touch them, so it was my job to set up the nativity scene on the mantel.

Mae Nunn--My favorite holiday tradition is keeping the cat from climbing the tree! :-)

Tina LaVon--We always drove Jackie around to see Christmas lights on the 24th to get her to go to sleep. She loved it so much we did it through her teen years.

Donna Delgrosso--I work at a police station and on Christmas, nothing is open and there is little to nothing to eat there. So about six years ago I had an open house. I invited everybody working up on my side of town over for spaghetti and meatballs. I wanted my friends to be able to enjoy Christmas for part of the working day. After that, my family came over and I spent the rest of the day with them. It was a hit! The officers love it and my family had fun getting know the people I work with. I do it every year now and really look forward to it!

Carol Webb--My favorite tradition for the holidays each year was and is getting the SUV packed up with blankets and pillows. We would go to either Starbucks or another coffee shop and get hot apple cider or hot cocoa. I remember one coffee shop in California where you had a choice of chocolate or vanilla whipped cream with your chocolate. Everyone picked the chocolate. Then we would drive through the neighborhoods and look at the holiday lights.

A nearby church (The Church of Joy in Glendale) has an absolutely, amazing light show you can drive through. We’d get a car load of people and drive through with Christmas carols blasting from the speakers. Singing of course was always involved. It didn’t matter how bad you sounded. Some years we’d look up in the newspaper or on the internet and find the list of neighborhood houses which had a bunch of lights strung on their house and property. Winterhaven down in Tucson is an entire neighborhood decorated with lights. You cannot NOT get in the mood for the holidays when you walk through the streets there. I can’t wait to be able to start the tradition all over again when my kids eventually have their own children.

Kim Watters--Taking in the local Christmas pageant about the birth of Jesus, nestled in blankets and drinking hot chocolate and trying to keep warm.

So now you know what some of us writers do. What are some of yours?

Kim Watters