HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Star, 1929-12-12, Page 15-40
TIIIIII IDAY, DOC. Ifth. Illi
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/�►jOHN GULL has
Mu* to look with
prldloshist hriet-
seas board laden
with rich a.d
tesepti*g f s r a
front roast turkey
or goose or sieiota
o plum=pudding and mince*
Pies. But his pride—just,-
fable as it is-.wouid 1* a
little subdued if 1* could
look on at the Christmas din-
ner enjoyed by hie forefathers
of past centuries.
The Christmas dinner of
those days of old was a banquet indeed—a, perfect revel of feasting,
accompanied by a ceremonial worthy of suck a high occasion,
Watch the imposing entry of the boar's head, heralded by a
flourish of trumpet*, borne aloft on a dish of gold or silver by the
*arver, who, as he enters the banqueting -hall with fns escort of
nobles, knights, and fairladies, sings his 'Caput aptidefera, Reddens
lodes Nokia.
In the wake of this lordly dish, decked with "sweet rosernaa y
and bays," follows the peacock, "food for lovers and meat for lords,"
"hit gilt beak and gay -colored plumage. To the strains of music it
as borne into the hall by the fairest lady -guest, with her retinue of
Iadies almost as fair u herself,
And these are but the heralds of the feast, which includes geese
and pheasants, capons and pies of carps' tongues, barns and sirloins,
and so on, through the long and succulent list of Christmas fare, to
furmety, plum -porridge and mince -pies of gargantuan proportions,
until the table literally groans under its wealth of seasonable fare.
As for the drinks, they range from mead and ale, "so old that it is
almost sweet and treacly," to the bowls of wassail, with cherries
and crabapples bobbing gaily on their steaming surface.
For many a century the boar's head was the piece de resistance
of the Briton's Christmas dinner, and it was fitting that such a noble
and historic dish should make its appearance with due. ceremonial.
"Sweet rosemary and bays around it spread;
ilia foaming tusks with some large pippin graced,
infant fh—esethuaderipgars an or mge placed,_-._._
Sauce like himself, offensive to its foes,
The roguish mustard, dangerous to the nose."
For centuries, too, the peacock
ranked in dignity and favor next to
the boar's head. To prepare it for
this high festival was an elaborate
process calling for muck skill. "The
skin," we are told, "was first care-
fully stripped off, with the plumage
adhering; the bird was then roasted.
When cooked and partially cold it
was sewed up again in its feathers,
its beak was gilt and so sent to table.
Sometime the whole body .was covered with gold leaf, and a
piece of cotton,saturated with spirits, placed in the beak and lighted
before the carver commenced operations. It was stuffed with spices
and sweet herbs, basted with yolk of egg, and served with plenty of
gravy. It was aver this splendid dish that the knight of old swore to
undertake any perilous enterprise that came in his way, and to
succour lovely woman in distress even at the cost of his life:
Another indispensable dish of these old-time feasts was•fru-
meaty or furmen y, a concoction of "wheat, clean fresh broth, and
sweet milk of almonds,". and served with fat venison or fresh mut-
ton. Plum: porridge, the progenitor of the succulent plum -pudding
of our day, which was always served with the fur3t course of a Christ-
mas dinner, was made by "boiling beef or mutton with broth,thick-
ened with
hick-enedwith brown bread. When half boiled, raisins, currants, prunes,
cloves, mace and ;gingerewere .added,..and when the had been ..
thoroughly boiled it was sent to table with the best meats."
Such was the Christmas dinner in castle and hall in the "good
old: days' of Meme England. And while lord and squire were thus
feasting the poor man's heart was made glad in the kitchen. "I
allow," says Sir Roger de Coverley, "a double quantity of malt to
my small beer, and set it running for twelve days to everyone that
calls for it. I have always a piece of cold beef and a mince -pie upon
the table; and am wonderfully pleased to see my tenants pass away
a whole evening in playing their innocent tricks and smutting one
another." And with such seductive lure to the hall, you may be
sure that the villagers at the park -gates were not the folk to allow
snow -drifts to bar their way to the nut -brown ale, the joints of cold
beef, and the fun and frolic that were their accompaniment;
The straight-laced Puritans of Cromwell's time frowned on such
feasting and merry -making as a profanation of a holy season. And,
curiously enough, the chief objects of theirdetestationwere the
Plum -porridge and mince -hies. As a rhyinester puts it.: --
The high -shoe lords of :Cromwell's making
Were not for dainties --roasting, baking;
The chiefeet bowl they found most good in . .
Was rusty bacon and bag pudding;
Plum broth was Popish, and mince -pie -
0 that was flat idolatry! '
Happily mince -pies and plum -porridge (in its successor, plum
pudding) survived this stern disapproval and are ours to feast on
to -day. But the boat's head and the peacock have practically van- -
iehed froni our Christmas board,
But Yuletide; feasting of the past was not all of this magnifrc int
and orthodox character. ' For example, a Christmas banquet in
Charles Its titntr fneluded such novel fare as a "soup of snails, a dish
of green fish 'buttered with eggs, a rabbit stuffed with oysters, and
a epinnage tart". ---all doubtless excellent fare, especially when ac-
companied by ale, iurfeit-water, Canary, sack and Gascony wince..
More afiplaling to our mddern tastes would have been the
dinner to which Pepys sat down on Christman Day, 1668, which
consisted of "A;disli of (narrow -bones, a leg of mutton and a loilt of
veal, three pullets and: a dozen larks, all in a great dish. Also a
ear great tart, a rleat's tongue; a dish of anchovies and prawns, and
10 Cheese, •
And what'hungry triton of to -day woulti'not hail a Christmas
pie like that provided his guests in 1770 by a Sir Henry Grey.
");t wast' we read, "nine feet la eircumference, weighed 165 pounds,
and contained among other ingredients four geese, two turkeys,
two rabbits, four wild -duck, two snipe, seven blackbirds, and half
a dozen pigeons." This leviathan pie, we are told, "was beought
round at table. on a four -wheeled specially constructed truck."
Prot of Att. Vutlr (Elmer
IIRISTMAS»-the friendliest, jolliest season of all the year,
Mk when folks naturally suffer from that good old-fashioned
nialadyenlargement of the heart! With the sweet winds of
festivity blowing at will through city and suburb, down ancestral
chimneys and across snow -carpeted prairie, rich and poor alike
respond to their caress.With rigid conventions relaxed under the
spell of the Yuletide, merriment is provoked upon the slightest pro-
vocation. Let the bag of nuts that the bachelor is carrying break
its bounds; and litter the floor of the. street tar, spontaneous laughter
ripples through the trolley and strangers are chatting together with
the intimacy of neighbors.
Touched•by the breath of geniality, sympathetic chords are
loosened and,* hundred eyes dint with tears as pedestrians witness
the tragedy erf * curly -heeded, blue-eyed baby doll slip from its
•
a,s■W,i.es a.¢ again se She snubs t, with the shahh* isa.d
i s Mmtnti--i later -„
go laud Ss do •Asititip# et'
► wili sptan.N siisrsids' •
aut.maw a,ll Ills arta, al -j tube •
Ap▪ sr▪ taasat4 Maas domPsA t`rt
one roof, e4st Weedy et ifraitiln of tis, tiMsihasse sss� rwui}llhs L
corridor, {►t tbY.iesids those hr so scut 6f ai lrwaeiM,dne and •
}
slogourkery. whir caulde't arils tiie home*mussy is s vosshrrtad,
. et the usidipse !1st natal bar M
thio shush luil Is
sil MOW
lipWOW +s.t
'o.a *tallow*tiear�rdlM�r-
of kaliMP,the aid
am
. atAti a so Ills'obt-se. bus taws die shook oath; 1!a
. 1,
elk
"
HRYSTMAS is a• time of secrets,,Y,�sJ 74,
" So I'll. whisper one to you,
grandpa says that all who try it,
Find that every word is true,
"Would you, have a happy. day?
give some happiness away."
grandpa says this little secret
Should be carried .through the year,
And if all would try to heed it,
Earth would soon be full of cheer,
"Would you have a happy day?
give some happiness away."„,
-41. A. Lynan
1,4
yell find youreelf exchanging hearty greetings with the fellow you've
bumped into daily in the restaurant, but with whom you haven't
the slightest personal *cquaintance.
In the cities, where strangeness and aloneness are taken for
granted, it kr duripg the Yuletide that the friendly handclasp is
accepted as the best gift of the season. The little stenographer from
dinner in the old folks' kitchen, setting the table with her
snowy cloth, dainty bride's china and silver, In the gloaming when
the old people with the young folk sat down before the crackling
fire, the girl -wife's hand clasping the old woman's toil -stained palm,
it was vividly clear to both of them that it was the "much-needed
handclasp" that was best of that Christmas merrymaking.
own
•
.ala alas as lwerw melbaseigall
1 WEST STREET HARDWARE
tag;�,ilarwtetti,l
Christmas
suggestions
SQMEMING USEFUL
SLEIGHS
Be a u tifully finished, strong
and fast.
WAGONS
R ub b c r tires, disc wheels,
natural finish, strong and
serviceable. Priced $2.75
to $7.00.
ELECTRIC N»SHING
Sunny Day, world'aa fastest
and seafest washer. Price
$129.50:
CUTLERY
- oskct- Krkiates,-25c to $2.001
Butcher Knives 60e to $l,25
Scissors, lar,ge variety, 25n
to $2.00.
Carvers, stainless steel, in
case, $4.50 to $7.75.
FLASHLIGHTS
59c, $1.00, $1.25, $1.50
and $2.00
HOCKEY STICKS
10c, 154 25e- 35c, 50c,
750, 90c
PUCKS
5c and 15c.
•=C. C. M. HOCKEY SKATES
0 l y ni pia Extra (velvet
nickel), all sizes, $5,00
Olympia • laxtra (ahnninunt
finish)., $4.00.
Cyco Tubes, $2.75
Nemo Tubes, $2.00
Ladies' Auto, $3.50
Yukon, nickel plated, $1.00.
FOOD CHOPPERS
Heavily tinned very tide to
c o arse cutting, $1.50,
$2$0, $3.00.
_ PYREX WARE_
A large assortment. Spe-
tial, round Casserole with
cover, price $1.50.
COVERED ROAST PANS
Round and oval, black gran-
ite and' aluminum, • $1.35
to $2.09.
Child's Cup, Saucer. and
Plate, 854
Child's 3 -pieces, Stainless
Knife, Fork and Spoon,
Colored handles. set 85c
-Stnif1r l rooms, 15c and, 25c
Alf. Tebbutt & Son
WEST ST., GOI)ERICHi
,AcctoR+KaC4 metctiX=czzlfi tz°€A AtckE4m'Ac1L=[tvirm A ictovrovot
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i,1.i',lilii�7"•lt`% I13G�F2; Wei ta.' ter foie, ,�3ii1711ni: rl"�ii tear
1�1 tiiii f
The Christmas
Toy Store for
Kiddies and
Grownups
Well made and dur-
able that the children
will enjoy all through
the year
Teddy Bears, Dogs, C a t s,
Rabbits in dainty colors of
pink and blue, Christmas
Cards, Cord, Tags,fancy
colored paper.
This store will be. open even-
ings all next week.
For the Magic of the
Yule Tide
We have just what you
want for the Holiday
Season
LINGERIE
NECKWEAR
HAND BAGS
HOSIERY
SCARFS
MAKE y'ERY ACCEPTABLE GIFTS'
In the Gift Shop
China, Brassware, Italian
- Pottery
and many other suitable Gifts that will may their
.t; Merry Christmas Wishes many a long,: day after.
Universal Millinery
and Gift Shop
4
4
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h., - i'i.'~ 19 v '..i ..�., . �a a �.. ,1-.r N +r'�� `r'.,i *,. 1:. QH•w�^+M v. 4 ._ V�'-Q