Christmas Dinner

[The Larch]

Btw, I worked my ass off writing up that shit on Polish traditions and noone even commented.

I liked the hay thingie. The empty spot for the stranger seems kinda SOIAF-ish as well. 

[Iormlund]

We don't do Xmas. As for reunions, my parents long ago learned that Xmas and New Year's are bad days for family gatherings, since their offspring is (hopefully) tired after a night of debauchery. We postpone such occasions to the 26th and 2nd respectively.

[Sheilbh]

I liked the hay thingie. The empty spot for the stranger seems kinda SOIAF-ish as well. 

The empty spot seems really Jewish too.  I think at Passover you leave an empty seat.  I agree with Marti the Jewishness of it all interests and surprises me.

[Syt]

Minbari also keep an empty seat at the table for Valen.

[Richard Hakluyt]

The percentage of people who were Jews in old Poland was very high, 20% or even more, many of them arriving from more developed parts of Europe (as the number of safe havens diminished). So it may be that their cultural influence on Polish society was greater than we imagine nowadays.

[Martinus]

The percentage of people who were Jews in old Poland was very high, 20% or even more, many of them arriving from more developed parts of Europe (as the number of safe havens diminished). So it may be that their cultural influence on Polish society was greater than we imagine nowadays.

Oh, it depends what you mean by "we" because "we" (in Poland) actually are quite conscious and recognize this influence. Jews have been settling in Poland since at least the 14th century where edicts guaranteed their freedom of worship and at least until the counterreformation "de-naissance" of the late 17th/early 18th century the cultural exchange was pretty big.

The "Christmas wafer" thingie also seems a lot like the Passover bread, for example.

[citizen k]

The "Christmas wafer" thingie also seems a lot like the Passover bread, for example.

That would be its antecedent, yes.

[Martinus]

During Easter we have a similar tradition as the Christmas wafer one, but we use an egg to share instead. What's interesting (or creepy, depending on your PoV), in many places/houses people actually take a piece of the Christmas wafer/Easter egg (respectively) and leave it on graves of relatives. Often parts are also given to family pets and the like.

In fact, pretty much every holiday has an optional element where you would take some of the food or whatnot involved, and take it to leave on the graves, lighting a candle as you do. Not to mention the All-Hallows and Souls Day celebrations, which are pretty creepy too.

It's all wonderfully pagan. 

[merithyn]

I don't do a Christmas dinner anymore - as stated in another thread - but when I was growing up our dinners consisted of:

Ham
Turkey
Hot & Sweet Tamales* (made over the course of a weekend earlier in the month then frozen)
Beans & Rice
Mac & Cheese (homemade, of course)
Stuffing
Enchilades (if Dad could be arsed to make them)
Various kinds of veggies (never the same)
Corn bread muffins
Homemade tortillas

We always had it Christmas Eve when everyone got together to celebrate. It was buffet-style since there were so many of us, and we usually exchanged gifts once everyone had eaten their fill. After presents and cleaning up, the ladies of the house would gather in the kitchen to drink a shot of tequila to usher in Christmas, then they'd pack up the kids and whichever men were willing and head out to midnight mass. (The church was 1/2 a block away, so we walked.)

*Pork and Sweet tamales are two different kinds. We made spicy hot pork tamales as well as raisin and brown sugar tamales. I think the sweet kind were something my elder two sisters made up one year, but I'm not positive on that. I was too young when they started making them to know for sure, but I've never seen them anywhere but at our house.

[Slargos]

Since there are so many dishes, I think a picture does the julbord more justice.



And I can spot a lot of ingredients missing there.

When I grew up, we would always have more or less the complete setup, as my father loves to cook and mainly eat, but nowadays it's seldom so grandiose. The bill for groceries around christmas would routinely land somewhere between $1500-2000 and we would be eating leftovers all through january.

I'm going over to my brother's for christmas dinner, and between his wife who's a bit on the cost conscious type and my brother who like me considers it "too much like work" it's going to be traditional-lite, I think.

[Caliga]

Hot & Sweet Tamales* (made over the course of a weekend earlier in the month then frozen)

I'd so perfer tamales for Christmas dinner over another dryass turkey. 

[Ed Anger]

Hot & Sweet Tamales* (made over the course of a weekend earlier in the month then frozen)

I'd so perfer tamales for Christmas dinner over another dryass turkey. 

Don't fix a turkey then.

[Caliga]

I ain't making the dinner.  We're having it at my sister in law's place.  I fear someone is going to inflict turkey on me, just not sure who exactly.  We are bringing a: Waldorf salad.

[Ed Anger]

  I fear someone is going to inflict turkey on me, just not sure who exactly.

WATCH OUT, THEY HAVE A LEG!

Just remember, you could have been like me in 1999 and be having a Swanson TV dinner for Christmas. 

[Caliga]

One of my friends recently broke up with his fiancee and she threw him out, and he moved from Lexington back to Columbus and is a swinging bachelor again.  I chatted with him after Thanksgiving and he told me he had a turkey sandwich with his cat for Thanksgiving dinner.

I guess I was supposed to feel bad for him, but I didn't really. I must be dead inside.