Post Notice

     This is just a heads up in saying this will be the last post for the holidays. I will be starting just one post/week. The eggnog post was the last one for two weeks because of Christmas Break and all that. Be sure to have a Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!

Eggnog

     What is the deal with this stuff? All it pretty much is is eggs and milk, items that are available to us all year round. So why does it only hit the markets during Christmas? Here's the history of this frothy-type milk.

     Eggnog may have come from Europe, or may have simply developed from a posset, an old European beverage made with hot milk. The "nog" part of its name may come from the word "noggin," an old English term for a small, carved wooden mug used to serve alcohol. However, the British drink was also called an Egg Flip (from the practice of "flipping," or rapidly pouring, the mixture between two pitchers to mix it). Another story is that the term derived from egg and grog, a common Colonial term used for the drink made with rum. Eventually, that term was shortened to egg'n'grog, then eggnog.

     In Britain, the drink was popular mainly among the aristocarcy. Those who could get milk and eggs mixed it with brandy, Madeira, or sherry to make a drink similar to modern alcoholic eggnog.  The drink eventually crossed the Atlantic to the English colonies during the 18th century. Since brandy and wine were heavily taxed, rum from the Triangular Trade with the Caribbean was a cost-effective substitute. The inexpensive liquor, coupled with plentiful farm and dairy products, helped the drink become very popular in America. 

     So, overall, we learned that eggnog was originally from Europe, then came to America. Usually, eggnog is mixed with some form of alcohol to make it more of a liquor than a hot cocoa-type thing. Technically, though, eggnog is not a drink in itself, but something that is added into drinks. However it came to be, nowadays eggnog is actually a drink, instead of just a thing added into drinks, and only appears (at least in America) during the Christmas season. So get your eggnog while you still can!

Happy Holidays!

The Candy Cane

     We all know of the red-and-white striped candy as the candy cane. It is hung on our trees and is an easy decoration to add to presents. It is used for games, and for little kids, it is also a good stocking stuffer. The candy cane is shaped like a cane, and is made of a peppermint candy, thus the name, the candy cane. It is traditionally the color red striped around a white stick. But did you know it is also a fun way to learn about Jesus? How was it created then? Well, the legend of the candy cane starts with a legend all its own.

     A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness for Christ the Lord, or Jesus. The candymaker made a peppermint strip of candy into a J, to stand for the J in Jesus. The candy J was white, to represent Jesus' purity. Then, the cane was given three thin stripes, to stand for Jesus' whipping and the thin blood lines across His back before He was crucified (and maybe the Trinity). Lastly, the candy-maker gave the cane a thick red stripe, to stand for the blood He shed to save us from sin. These lines were wrapped around the J to form a symbol of Jesus.

   Isn't this a wonderful way to celebrate Jesus and what he did for us? The candy cane has become a popular treat worldwide, although we do put it upside down a lot. My theory is that it's easier to hang upside down, so that's how we view it...as a cane. But just remember that this treat was made for Jesus, and as a good reminder to remember what Christmas is all about, I'd suggest buying some to put on the tree (right parents?).

Happy Holidays!

    

Christmas Cookies

     For this blog, you're in for a treat. The Christmas cookie, a treat native to our kitchens, is most commonly baked around Christmas time. It can be any shape, although it is usely a shape that is commonly associated with Christmas, like a snowflake, Christmas tree, reindeer, candy cane, or something of the sort. Even in it's deliciousness, why do we do it? When exactyy did this tasty tradition start?

     The cookies have been around longer then Christmas has. However, after Pope Julius declared December 25 as Christmas day in 350 AD, Christians adopted cookie making as part of their Christmas celebration. The Christmas cookie actually came from the Dutch word "koekje," which means "small cake." It was the Pennsylvania Dutch who first introduced holiday cookies to America.  Then other Europeans brought their recipes when they came over to America, bringing some of the recipes we enjoy today.  We can thank Sweden for the spritz cookies topped with sugar crystals, Scotland for their shortbread, Greece for their Baklava and the Russian for their powdered sugar tea cakes. The German cookies, lebkuchen and springerle, are also favorites. As you can see, many of the Christmas cookie recipes we enjoy today came from European countries.

     Now, I'm going to insert my own opinion. As good old St. Nick came by on Christmas and left presents, people began thinking of a way to thank him....in the form of a Christmas cookie. They took the hard biscuit recipe and warped it by accident, ending up with a soft circular delicacy. Having been poor and conserative, they couldn't remake it for lack of flour, so they put the new "biscuit" out and, waking up on Christmas morning, found it all gone, with only a few crumbs left for the mice. Then, they told their neighbors and their neighbors told their neighbors and so on, and the cookie's popularity spread. Thus, we end up with the Christmas cookie.

     As we moderized, so did the cookie, and it spread from just Christains to everyone, becoming a tastly tradition. However the cookie came to be, it is now a tradition among most people to bake around Christmas, whether for Santa Claus or for our own stomachs.
Happy Holidays!

The Christmas Tree

     We all know about the Christmas tree. Some of us have fake ones that we put up, and others go out every year and get a real one from a tree farm. Then we decorate it with everything from glass bulbs to striped candy canes.  Some make their tree uniform with a specific theme, while others go the other route and save old decorations to mix with the new ones on their tree. But how did this age old tradition really start?

     Even since the ancient times, primitive people would take evergreen plants and flowers into their huts, seeing in them a magical, spiritual significance. Other plants, like holly, mistletoe, butcher's broom, laurel, or branches of pine or fir also decorated homes, as there were believed to have medical/magical powers that warded off illness. This belief was found especially among the inhabitants of the northern regions, which had cold climates and long, dark winters. It was almost as if these plants revived thoughts of the coming spring while everything around them lay dormant.

     An ancient tradition, part history, part legend, and very popular in Germany, claims that the Christmas tree dates back to the 8th century. This legend is based on a historical figure, St. Boniface, and even a historical event, the destruction of Odin's oak. St. Boniface was an English Bishop who went to Germany in the 8th century to preach the Christian faith as a missionary from the Church of Rome. After a period of successful Gospel preaching, Boniface went to Rome to confer with Pope Gregory II. After a long absence, he returned to Geismar, Germany, for Christmas 723, and felt personally offended on discovering that the Germans had reverted to their former idolatry of pagan divinities and were preparing to celebrate the winter solstice by sacrificing a young man under Odin's sacred oak tree. Fired by holy anger, St. Boniface took up an axe and dared to cut down the oak. This courageous, historically documented act meant the triumph of Christianity in Germany over the pagan divinities.

     All of that is historically documented. The rest belongs to the legend, which tells how, at the first blow of the axe, a strong gust of wind instantly brought down the tree. The astounded Germans fearfully recognized the hand of God in this event and asked St. Boniface how they should celebrate Christmas. The Bishop, as the legend continues, pointed to a small fir tree that had miraculously remained upright and intact beside the debris and broken branches of the fallen oak. Boniface was familiar with the popular custom of taking an evergreen plant into the house in winter and, based on this knowledge, asked everyone to take home a fir tree. This tree signifies peace, and as an evergreen it also symbolizes immortality; with its top pointing upwards, it additionally indicates heaven, the dwelling place of God. This might be how the tree started out as a Christian tradition.

     So, now we have our tradition during Christmas to put up an evergreen tree into our homes and decorate it festively. We put presents under it and wish each other a Merry Christmas and celebrate a happy time around it in our living room. Whatever the case may be, it is now a ancient and fun tradition that we do during the Christmas season.
Happy Holidays!

The Elf on the Shelf

     It's Christmas time and the elves are back! If you don't know what an elf on the shelf is, then you must not have been a naughty kid. The elf on the shelf is an elf in your home that moves around, watches you, and then "reports" back to Santa Claus about your behavior. It started out as a way to get kids to behave better around Christmas. According to tradition, around Christmas time Santa sends out his elves to adoption centers around the world, where they wait for a loving family to come find them. Once the elf recieves a name, it gets it's Christmas magic and becomes part of the family every year around Christmas time.

     These elves are the eyes and ears of Santa Claus. Part of the tradition is that they are not allowed to be touched, or they might lose some of their Christmas magic. They watch every good and bad deed that goes on in the household during the day, then, using their Christmas magic, they fly back to the North Pole and report back to Santa. While there, they also talk with friends, play with the reindeer, and sneak some of Mrs. Claus's cookies.

     Then, before the family wakes up in the morning, the elf flies back to the house, but since elves like to play games, the elf goes back to a different spot! Some like to hide in the freezer, while others sit cozily on the mantle above the fireplace. Whatever the case, these elves love to play hide-and-seek with their families. Then, on Christmas Eve, the elf listens for Santa's special bell, then it goes back to the North Pole to wait for next Christmas. These elves are fun to have at home, in the classroom, or even at work! Based on the book The Elf on the Shelf, this small book has made the elf on the shelf a christmas tradition all over the world. No matter the case, you better be on your best behavior, because Santa's elves are watching!
Happy Holidays!

(Based on the book The Elf on the Shelf by Carol Aebersold)