The Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-12-22, Page 14Wass '1 bowl introduced. in ].400s
Waes hael, the orginal Saxon
word which wassail was der-
ived, means "a toast to
your good health".
King Henry VII is credited with in-
troducing the wassail bowl to England in
the 1400s, bringing it from Scandinavia.
Containing a mixture of hot ale, spices
and toasted apples, a drink from the
wassail bowl was just alcoholic enough to
warm the tingling toes and fingers of
Christmas visitors, particularly carollers,
who in those days travelled on foot or by
horse and carriage.
Many times, the wassail bowl was ac-
companied by a pungent fruit cake or a
delicious plum pudding with a tangy
sauce.
As the custom spread, bands of beg-
gars and orphans danced through the
snowy streets of England, stopping at the
homes of the wealthy folks and looking
for a nip from the wassail bowl ... or a
penny, maybe a pork pie or even an op-
portunity to "come inside and warm
thyself".
That may explain why, by the 17th cen-
tury, the British referred to the wassail
bowl as a "loving cup".
The British brought this time-honoured
custom to North America and it is still a
part of celebrations in Canada and the
United States.
Today's wassail bowl is offered to
guests at a tree -decorating party, after
carolling around the neighbourhood or
following a sleigh -ride or skating party.
For your pleasure then, we include
some special recipes for a true wassil bowl
... and some good things to serve with it.
The Wassail Bowl
12 apples, cored
2 bottles port wine
2 bottles ale
1 bottle brandy
1 tbsp. grated nutmeg
1 tbsp. allspice
1 tsp. ginger
'/2 tsp. cardamon
1 tbsp. cloves
1 stick cinnamon
Thin strips of lemon peel
12 egg whites, beaten until frothy
Bake apples at 375°F for 30 minutes. In
saucepan, simmer port, ale, brandy,
spices and lemon peel. Fold egg whites
gently into punch. Pour wassail into
punch bowl and top with baked apples.
Easy Fruit Cake
1 lb. seedless raisins
1 lb. pitted dates
1 lb. dried figs
1 lb. shredded coconut
1 lb. shelled walnuts
'/a tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
'/n cup Sherry
Chop raisins, dates, figs, coconut and
walnuts coarsely in food processor or
blender. Empty mixture into large bowl
and add salt, vanilla and sherry; blend
well.
Spoon and pack mixture into mold. Use
two 6 -cup loaf pans. Cover and place a
weight on top.
Refrigerate three days, or keep in a
cold place to "age".
Serve thinly sliced.
Plum Pudding
'/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 cup raisins
1 cup currants
1 cup pecans
2 cups bread crumbs
2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
'/2 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375°F
Beat butter until smooth. Cream in
sugar; beat in eggs. Add raisins, cur-
rants and pecans to butter mixture.
Combine bread crumbs, nutmeg,
cloves, cinnamon and stir into butter
mixture.
Bake in greased pan for 30 minutes.
Serve with Port Wine Sauce.
Port Wine Sauce
'/2 cup butter
'/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup port wine
1 tsp. grated orange rind
Cream butter and add sugar; add egg.
Stir in Port wine and orange rind.
Just before serving, heat mixture, stir-
ring until warm.
The many origins of Christmas legends
By Carol Ward
The biblical tale of the birth of
Jesus Christ as told in the
gospels of Luke (2:1-19) and
Matthew (2:1-23) is the beloved
foundation on which Christmas is based.
The babe in the manger, the joyfully
singing angels, watchful shepherds, and
the Wise Men have become cherished
symbols of the first Christmas.
The first record of the observation of
Christ's birth came in the year 336 in the
Philocalian Calendar, a Roman Almanac.
Fourteen years later, December 25 was
officially decreed Christmas by Pope
Julius I; it was made a civic holiday by
Emperor Justinian in 529.
The date of December 25 was probably
chosen as Christ's birthday because it co-
incided with midwinter celebrations of
early times. Certainly Christmas
festivities were influenced by pagan
rituals honoring old oman and Persian
deities.
Wreaths,lc les, mistletoe, holly —
these are signs that Christmas is coming.
Many Christmas decorations symbolize
the Christian belief in everlasting life,
though some trace their roots to ancient
pagans as well.
The popular Christmas color, green, for
example, symbolizes the Christian belief
in eternal life through Christ, but it also
symbolizes the ability to continue living
throughout the winter.
Surviving through the cold months of
the year was extremely important to
many ancient peoples, for whom winter
was a fearful time.
Whatever their origin, however, the
sights and smells of traditional
Christmas decorations have the power to
evoke the aura of the holiday as nothing
else can. This is especially true of the
traditional evergreen we use as the
Christmas tree.
- Pagan peoples began the tradition of
bringing an evergreen tree indoors and
decorating it. In fact, because of their
close association with pagan practices,
the use of evergreens was prohibited in
many early church celebrations.
Eventually, however, the church made
an effort to invest these pagan customs
with Christian meaning and significance,
permittingthem to continue.
No one really knows how the first
modern Christmas tree came to be or
where or when it originated. But many
people believe that it evolved from the
Paradise tree, a fir hung with red apples
and wafers (the host) which represented
the Garden of Eden in a medieval
miracle play about Adam and Eve.
The play was usually performed on
December 24, which was celebrated as
Adam and Eve's birthday during the
Middle Ages. Miracle plays were sup-
pressed during the 15th century, but the
Paradise tree didn't die — people simply
brought the trees into their homes. and
decorated them there.
The oldest record of a Christmas tree
— cut, decorated and standing indoors —
goes back to 1603 in Strasbourg, Ger-
many (now France). There, Christmas
trees were decorated with paper roses of
many colors (symbols of the Virgin
Mary), as well as apples, painted hosts
and sugar.
Before long the hosts were replaced by
ornamental cookies and decorations of
painted eggshells with candles added to
the tree.
Christmas trees didn't become an in-
tegral part of the American Christmas
celebration until around 1930. Today the
National Christmas Tree Association
estimates that 30 million natural
Christmas trees are sold every year.
Artificial trees account for about one-
third of all Christmas trees in homes and
offices.
Like the evergreen tree, mistletoe and
holly were admired by pagan peoples
because they represented triumph over
the forces of winter. The ancient Druids
believed that holly guarded against wit-
ches, thunder and lightning.
At the winter solstice they cut mistletoe
during an elaborate ceremony in the
forest, including sacrifices to the gods
followed by festivities. Priests divided
mistletoe among the people, who hung it
in their homes as a charm against evil.
How did the custom of kissing under
the mistletoe come about? According to
an ancient Scandinavian myth, Balder,
the Sun God, was slain by a dart made of
mistletoe.
Freyja, Balder's mother, was deter-
mined that mistletoe should never again
be responsible for anyone's death, so she
declared it a sign of love rather than of
hate and asked that all who passed
beneath it kiss.
Although we associate mistletoe with
Christmas, it does not have any religious
meaning. Holly, on the other hand, was
used by the early Christians specifically
to make wreaths and other decorations
for their homes and churches at
Christmastime.
Legend holds that Jesus' crown of
thorns was plaited from holly. It is said
that, before the crucifixion, the berries of
the holly were white, but afterward they
turned crimson like drops of blood.
Holly and ivy are linked to gether in a
15th century carol that describes a con-
test between the two for a place of honor.
There are many variations of this
carol; in some, the holly assumes the
part of the man and the ivy assumes the
part of the woman. They carry on a
debate about which one will rule the
household. Finally, it is decided that the
holly will win.
The, poinsettia, closely associated with
the Christmas season, was brought to the
United States from Mexico in the 1820s by
Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, the am-
bassador to that country for several
years. There are numerous variations of
the legend that attempt to explain how
the poinsettia came to be.
One of the most widespread recounts
this story: On Christmas Eve long ago, a
poor boy had no gift to bring the Holy
Child. He was embarrassed to enter the
church without a gift and remained out-
side the building. Then he saw a green
plant growing at his feet.
In desperation, he picked the plant and
took it inside the church to lay at the feet
of the Christ Child. At the altar, the plant.
changed into a beautiful, bright red
flower — the poinsettia.
To Christians, candles are symbols of
Christ, the light of the world. The lovely
custom of placing a single candle in the
window at Christmastime was brought to
America by the Irish.
It is said that in Ireland, during the
many years of religious oppression, Irish
Catholics placed candles in their windows
so that fugitive priests would know they
were welcome inside to say Mass.
Modern day variations of the
Christmas candle are the lights that
decorate Christmas trees, and the out-
sides of homes and other buildings during
the holiday season.
St. Francis of Assisi is believed to have
created the first creche in 1223 — a
nativity scene with figures of Mary,
Joseph and Jesus, the Wise igen, angels,
shepherds and animals.
According to some accounts, the
characters of the creche were simply
painted figures; according to others, St.
Francis used live animals and people, ex-
cept for Baby Jesus, for whom a wax
figure was substituted.
The nativity scene has a special place
among the Pennsylvania Dutch. They
call it the putz (from the German putzen,
which means "to decorate").
The putz included more than a nativity
scene — it is often an entire village in
miniature, complete with meadows,
fences, windmills, soldiers and ponds.
The putz can be quite elaborate and may
take up an entire room.
Christmas means
many things to
many people. To
us it's the perfect
time to express
our thanks for
your support this
past year. Te -em
Farm. farm
market,
greenhouses and
garden centre
wishes all its
customers and
friends the best
of the sason.
TED, EMMA
& FAMILY
482-3020
0
00
Remember
to have a happy
and safe Christmas!
We'd like to wish all our customers
a joyous Christmas and every
happiness this time can bring.
BLUEWATER
TRUCK
CENTRE LTD.
Airport F$d., Goderich 524-7379
INTHINATI0NAL
GLi
10)
ir.
•
•
GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER ?,,3, t983 --.PAGE. 13B
WISHING YOU A
MERRY CHRISTMAS
BAKER'S NURSERY
R.R. 2 Bayfield 482-9995
"Friendly Service and
Quality Merchandise
at Fair Prices"
a®
argtea
A Glad and Glorious
Christmas to All!
- L.H. JENKINS
AUTOWRECKERS
R.R. 4 GODERICH
524-2181_
A
Merry
HeIIo!
Thanks for
being so
kind this
entire year!
newasomili
J
FROM: Al and Dorothy, Cecilia and Jim.
and Darcy, Crystal and Danny at
GRANGERS T.V. LTD. 524-8925
N.
In bright ant iri ).1I loll 111 •
the holitlals. wt. %sish',on a
• 4t•ason II Iant in loge
- ant! laul;hler. It's lw.n a job
>J to do bu-inrss.sith you. 1
. •1� ' — Nio it i� i1�l�.1�....
1
le\
Joyous Holiday
Season
and all Good Wishes
for the New Year!
FRAN, JIM, JEAN
AND KATHY
We will be closed
Dec. 24th to Jan. 4th
Happy New Year
71 -
„Al
. 524-2551
MORRIS
DRAPERIES
36 WEST ST. GODERICH
A Holiday Wish
To One and All
Wishing you a memorable
and Merry Christmas. Thanks for
the opportunity to know and
serve you.
From the staff at
JIM HAYTER
CHEV OLDS
74 Kingston St., Goderich 524-7314
gloPy to qoo
In the highest,
Ana on em2th peace,
cioo6 will tow\PO men.
GODERICH 52443'14