The Makings of Christmas

Thursday, December 25, 1986 COURIER-JOURNAL The makings of Christmas 'Who can wonder that Christmas contains in morose, however — at least not in the opinion congruous elements, for old things, loved by of Clement A. Miles, the author of a volume the people, cannot easily be uprooted^ entitled Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Clement A. Miles published in England in 1912. • Christmas in Ritual and Tradition Although he made it clear that, by most scholarly accounts, the observation of Christ By Emily Morrison mas on December 25 had its origins primarily % * # he timing seems appropri- in pre-Christian ritual and the celebration of \ f H ^ ate, at the close of this year the secular New Year, this stolid Briton credited of ritualistic fanfare sur- Catholicism with much of the enduring spirit > rounding the refurbishment of the Christmas that has survived until the of the Statue of Liberty, to present day. consider the nature of our "In the countries that remained Roman American holiday celebra Catholic much of the old Christmas continued, Wt ^aSiaf* ^* f^ tions. A footloose amal though the spirit of the Counter-Reformation, gam of ethnic tribes and subcultures, we faced by the challenge of Protestantism, made Tnevertheless seem to conspire on festive occa for greater 'respectability; and often robbed the '^Sr • j^iribk sions to rejoice as a more or less unified whole. Catholic Christmas of its humor, its homeli What ingredients add spice and significance ness, its truly popular stamp, substituting to the "melting pot" of our holiday celebra pretentiousness for simplicity, sugary sentiment 8 tions — the most widely observed of which is for naive and genuine poetry;' wrote Clement I " &N ^^StU\^,« m, w m^p* "* 1 undoubtedly Christmas? * . in his introduction. Religion, of course, plays a vital role in many This joyous, warm and human celebration of our holiday observances, from Thanksgiv of-Christmas, of course, evolved over the cen ing to Hanukkah, from Easter to Epiphany to turies from the austere ethic of the early Chris . Halloween, which has its roots in pagan ritu tian monks, who deplored the visibly pagan > al yet ends with the chastening dawn of All elements inherited from life-affirming winter Saints' Day. Christmas as well has pagan ori solstice rituals of newly converted barbarian gins — and, like ancient Romans celebrating peoples. the pagan Saturnalia, we're often criticized for "(T)he Church authorities fought tooth and the overindulgence with which we revel in the nail against these relics of heathenism, these holiday season. devilish rites!' wrote Clement, "but mankind's Americans, on the whole, are an excessive instinctive paganism is insuppressible, the prac lot. We tend to eat too much, drink too much, tices continue as ritual, though losing much and spend lavishly on Christmas gifts and fes of their meaning, and the Church, weary of tive trappings. For the affluent among us, the denouncing, comes to wink at them, while the brimming cornucopia of our pioneer heritage, pagan joy in earthly life begins to color her spills over into a harvest of holiday plenty that own festival" „ often translates into conspicuous consumption.. The battle apparently rages on in some Yet our country is a land of contrasts. In the quarters. The recent controversy surrounding * < midst of this apparent embarrassment of rich the New Jersey priest who disparaged Santa es, we have single parents on welfare, senior Claus before schoolchildren might have been citizens and minorities living on the fringes of circumvented if the undoubtedly well- an.abundant society, a substantial underclass intentioned cleric had only come across the we call "the working poor!' and homeless peo Italian Christmas legend of the Befana, a fe ple sleeping on steam vents and setting up male Santa who comes down the chimney on housekeeping in packing crates. the feast of Epiphany. Charges that we've taken the Christ out of • La Befana, it appears, was something of a Christmas may well be valid. Spend any Satur procrastinator. According to legend, she heard day afternoon between Thanksgiving and the news of Christ's birth from the shepherds Christmas at the neighborhood shopping mall, on Christmas Day, but delayed embarking on and you'll get the picture. Our children, her journey to see Him. Ever since, the poor deluged by television advertising, clamor for woman has wandered from house to house talking teddy bears, Laser Tag, Evil Horde searching for the Christ CMId. The gifts she Slime Pits and electronic war games that leaves, rather than being tokens of rampalu masquerade as IBM-compatible "flight simu secular commercialism, are really intended for lators" (one of which includes a brilliant tac Baby Jesus, whom the Befana reasons might NC photo MOTHER AND CHILD - This painting of the "Virgin and Child with Four Angels" tical maneuver entitled "Libyan Mission"). We well be inside any of the houses on her eter is by Gerard David, a 15th-century Flemish painter. It is part of the collection of the mob the malls, declaring ourselves in cahoots nally unfinished route. Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. with Santa Claus, that universal symbol of - Ungrateful American bambini afflicted with secular booty, patterned after a Catholic bish what a recent Democrat and Chronicle article Few children, however, are really immune to Later, as we skirted the gathering hordes op long forgotten in the shuffle of however termed the Christmas "gimmies" might be the altruistic spirit that seems to imbue our waiting to ride the Monorail, he informed me many godforsaken shopping days are left un cured by a turn at the Urn of Fate. A great Christmas traditions, despite the continuous that if he were to discover a million dollars on til Christmas. round decorative bowl filled to capacity with bombardment of media-induced materialism. the floor of B. Forman's, he'd follow the sound Somewhere in the long centuries that have gaily wrapped presents, the Urn in actuality Concerned recently that my seven-year-old of that incessantly ringing bell until he found elapsed since the Christian celebration of the contains a number of empty boxes mixed in son's Christmas list was growing a trifle long the Salvation Army volunteer once more, and Nativity had i*6 inception in the fourth centu with the authentic gifts. A child who has and the thrill of getting might perhaps come turn the cash over to him. thrown tantrums over Insecticons might well ry B.C., we've lost our perspective on how our to eclipse the spirit of giving, I didactically par Would I have said the same? modern celebration of Christmas came to be. reach in and draw a blank from this intrigu celled out a dollar for him to deposit in the ing Mediterranean diversion. The journey to regain it needn't necessarily be Salvation Army kettle at Midtown Plaza. Continued on Page 5 person and to benefit the partaker. In early English caroling, wassailing was practiced by Family feasts for a festive season going to homes of the wealthier neighbors with cup or bowl in hand, in the expectation By Patricia A. McCabe that the neighbors would fill the vessel with he season of rejoicing in punch. Sometimes the bowl was adorned the birth of Christ has with ribbons and topped with baked apples long been marked by called "lambswool!' traditional feasting and For your holiday enjoyment, a recipe for merrymaking. Through wassail follows. It should be noted that was the centuries, Yuletide sail is best consumed hot. dishes have evolved con current with improve Wassail with "lambswool" ments in cooking methods, resulting in some Core and bake: 1 dozen apples Tcurious new traditions. But perhaps it is a de Combine in a saucepan and boil for 5 sire for nostalgia — a glimpse of our ances minutes: 1 cup water, 4 cups sugar, 1 tors' days, when life seemed less complicated tablespoon grated nutmeg, 2 teaspoons — that causes us to hold dear to the old ground ginger, Vi teaspoon mace, 6 whole favorites. cloves, 6 allspice berries, 1 stick cinnamon All around the globe this year, many peo Beat until stiff but not dry: 1 dozen egg ple will be celebrating Christmas as their an by local monks and delivered to families to served in a semiliquid state. Charles II was whites cestors did. In parts of western Europe, send with letters to relations, much in the, the first to see a more solid version, which Beat separately until light in color: 1 dozen families will join other families for the long, same way we send Christmas cards. In Italy, was wrapped in a cloth and boiled. It wasn't egg yolks celd walk down snowy mountain trails or "panettoneT or currant loaf, is a'no-knead until Victorian days that the idea of a steam Fold whites into yolks, using a large bowl. across frozen lakes, carrying lighted candles coffee cake usually given as a gift. ing vessel was realized, and plum pudding be Strain sugar and spice mixture into eggs, or lanterns to midnight Mass. On Christmas Perhaps the most familiar traditions to came cake-like as we now know it (served combining quickly. day, they continue to observe the familial Americans are plum pudding and the was with brandied buttercream, or "hard sauce!' Bring almost to the boiling point sepa- meal, as did generations before them. sail bowl. Anyone who has enjoyed Charles of course!). , rately: 4 bottles sherry, 2 cups brandy In Poland, the head of the family will DickensI "A Christmas Carol" will remem The Wassail — from the Anglo-Saxon wes- Incorporate the hot wine with the spice and break off a piece of "oplatki," a flour-and- ber the pudding.".

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