| Show M 04 K T L L CN M aula ON coriam va J 1080 reri MAO N 1 ff BIDE do 0 U U ON M GO 0 0 TWO 0 I 1 lra christmas season brings to mind the many christmas days gone by with their four great features turkey cranberry sauce plum pudding and mince pie it was a good old english custom not to be rejected by the tha america colonists although modifications ficat ions were necessary to suit the religion ind conditions of 0 living in the colonies the christ spirit being substituted for or the pagan yuletide yule tlde the famous boars baars head was omitted and the christmas plo pie became became known as mince pie however Ho weer many old observances were kept including the mistletoe and holly arid and christmas was a day for family gatherings with a feast prepared by the women of the bousik it Is quite possible that we would not like their flavorings today they used a variety ot of spices wines and seasonings in even their plainest dishes lut iut as everything was prepared in the home either under the supervision of the mistress or by her own hands the mixtures were wholesome everything was turned to account in the season with a view to future use so in this way preparations tor for the holiday were going on long before the day in cherry tine time a supply was carefully packed in hay and kept for christmas the christmas cookies with coriander seed in them were baked six months before and kept in an earthenware jar in the cellar mince meat recipe the rich plum pudding and cakes were made early in the tall fall and put away to mellow and ripen the mincemeat was then made the recipe for which was recently found in an old chilade philadelphia I 1 p haa cookbook we copy all but the spelling four pounds veal four pounds suet two pounds raisins one pound currants six apples some rose water and sack halt half a pound no more of sugar three fourths pound cloves mace nutmeg and cinnamon cinnamo fi some candled candied orange peel lemon peel citron and blanched almonds they made a putt puff paste for or their pies different from ours one recipe called for flour one pound butter ten eggs and some milk or water some housewives made their winter supply rf cf mince pies before thanksgiving and re heated them before using for the lemon tarts the lernon lemons had bad to be first soaked in salt water tor for two days then every day tor for fourteen days they were put into fresh cold water when they were made apples oranges and sugar were added A few days before christmas the mistress went to market the maid carrying the basket sho she would get her turkey cranberries celery oysters and a little pig tor for roasting whole the day before christmas the real excitement began the stuffing was made and such stuffing bread crumbs beet beef suet liver lemon peels nutmeg savory pepper salt cream and eggs the little pig only tour four or five weeks old was filled to his utmost capacity with mashed potatoes or apples not the least to be considered were the green decorations ground pine for festoons fes and wreaths mistletoe to hang and holly everywhere were the necessities when christmas morning came the excitement was at the highest pitch the hou housewife abife her daughters and her maids were up early the brick oven was heated and the mince pies put in the turkey was dredged with flour and put on the spit with a small unwilling child to watch ind turn it as it browned another child was set to cracking nuts and polishing apples roasting the little pig the little pig was put before the fire to roast in the dripping pan in which were three bottles c red wine for or basting while the things were brooking oo king a long table the length ot of the room i spread with the white linen cloth napkin china and silver or pewter in the middle of the table was the famed christmas bowl here are the quaint directions for or making it break nine sponge cakes and halt half a pound ot of macaroons macar in a deep dish pour over one pint raisin wine halt half pint sherry leave them to soak sweeten with two ounces of powdered sugar candy and pour over one pint and a halt ot of custard stick with two ounces sliced almonds place on a stand and ornament with christmas evergreens ever greens the tankard with the Chrls christmas mas brew was put on the table and all the silla bubs jellies pickles lemon tarts red apples nuts the cookies and the cherries fresh from the hay the fireplaces were now blazing and the red berries and green leaves of the holly were shining in the light the mistletoe was waiting for the unwary and the good smell of the brown turkey savory stuffing and applesauce was everywhere don their bet best frocks frock after the housewife and her daughters had bad seen to everything they hurried to put on their best flowered silks with white whims around their necks and the most secret beautifiers flers on their faces then the dinner being nearly cooked they took the little browned pig raised him gently and put two small loaves of 0 bread under him and added bundle of sweet herbs more wine an anchovy a and a half a lemon was put into the sauce which was poured over him hot they had bad him sitting ou on his haunches looking lifelike then they put k t a red apple in his mouth which alas he ha could never eat and garnished him with holly at last the company came the mistress preserving a calm exterior but with an inward anxiety lest something be burned or spilled at tho the last moment when all is ready the beaming host says saya friends will thee join us in the christmas feast and with great dignity he I 1 leads eads them with the guest ot of honor on his arm followed by the older people and the children the table decorated the table Is a picture to cheer the hu hungry agry the large turkey is at cne end and the pig at the other end ot of the long table with everything they are to eat between excepting the plum pudding after the silent grace which stills the noise tor for a moment the carver takes his bis knife and with a deliberation born ot of steady nerves carves under the fire ot of twenty pairs of eyes the directions in housewifery says raise the leg fairly of the th e turkey and open the joint with the point of the knife but do not take off the leg an then lace down both sides of the areat bone and open the breast pinion but do not take it off then r rrose tse the merry thought between the breast bone and the top of it and so on till the turkey la is boned while this Is being done the christmas bowl Is passed after they are helped to turkey and pig they pass the vegetables and delicacies and even the mince pie Is eaten when they have the desire for it the correct manners the brojer proper conventions aro are strictly adhered to the book of etiquette says A gentlewoman must not lean her elbows on the table nor by a ravenous gesture discover a voracious appetite nor talk with her mouth full nor smack her lips like a pig the children were kept in order in all the feast was decorous but merry tor for all that at last when they have eaten to the extent of their capacity the plum pudding blazing and with a piece of holly stuck in the top Is brought in arid and eaten with brandy sauce then the toasts are drunk with the good home brewed wine and the feast Is ane LL gifts careful carefully lf marked should be consigned the day before to the one in charge and she must purchase a juanity of clothesline and clothespins clothe spins the line should be stretched back and forth across the living room and each gift wrapped in tissue paper and tied with red ribbons should bo be fastened to the line by a clothespin decorated with wings of redan red and dgreen green W in I 1 the bay window a table should j be arranged on which Is placed a jack horner pie containing a christmas souvenir for or each member of the family the ribbons attached to the packages in the pie should be carried up to a boll holly y decorated hoop suspended over the table each ribbon tagged with the name of the one tor whom it Is intended when the family wash has been taken down each person seeking his or her own gift they gather around the pie and at a signal pull out their plums hidden in egg shells when the family Is all present at breakfast start to serve the meal of coffee bread and butter ham and soft cooked eggs without any mention of gifts at each place have an eggcup or saucer on which you put an egg the contents having been removed previously through a small hole in the end partly fill with sand and let each contain a small paper with a suggestion in poetry of where or how to find their gifts As each person thinks he be Is cracking his egg he be finds the puzzle inside much merriment and good cheer will be the result serve original content of eggshells egg shells in omelet with the ham hide one persons gifta gatt i in bookcase paper in egg to read it you are either wise or smart find me in a hurry burry among gifted people I 1 now dwell so hunt dont sit and worry frost king and snowballs As this Is th the e time tor for the clever woman ot of the family to devise some unique way of dis christmas gifts she may decorate the living room with evergreens ever greens holly and mistletoe and then place in one corner a table covered with a white cloth hidden from view by a screen of generous size on this table Is placed snowballs these snowballs made of 0 white cotton batting and tied with white contain each designated present and are heaped in a pyramid thus obtaining a mass of 0 snowballs ol of varied size the pile Is scattered freely with diamond dust in order to give it an attractive sparkle if there Is 19 a small boy in the house bouse he be may be dressed as a frost king in a costume of 0 white wadding sprinkled with diamond dust leaves and holly berries can be sewed here and there upon the robe at a given signal the screen Is removed disclosing the tiny frost king who with a few words ot of christmas greeting gathers the snowballs into a pretty basket and as each ball bears a small tag he be finds no difficulty in distributing to those assembled A holly pie A novel way of distributing christmas gifts on christmas morning Is to make a big pie in the center of the table of holly branches and arrange it so the gifts can be easily drawn from under it it each gift must be tied with u narrow red ribbon and one end lead to each place at the table this Is great tun fun and of course everyone Is anxious to see who gets the most rib bons the lucky one being declared the most tar lar the pie is not opened until end of breakfast A christmas trail one member ot of the family should take charge of the gifts and when the coast Is clear should lay the trail with them in all of the available downstairs rooms start from a tiny christmas tree on the lying living room table by fastening to it a card tor for each person marked for example thus card no 1 father loot loo for card no 2 in umbrella stand in hall in the stand he will find a package tagged in this manner card no 2 father look for or card no 3 in your list hat in hall ball closet the third card will be found on a gift in the spot designated ath further instructions which are followed on to the next until all his presents come to light everyone pursues his bis or her trail at once and a merry scene of confusion Is the result these cards may be prepared beforehand and no difficulty will be experienced it in placing the gifts each trail Is finished before starting to lay another the last cards should direct the family to their places at the dining room table where they will find amusing airs of the occasion cobweb method A rather novel and entirely inexpensive way of distributing christmas gifts Is to employ the cobweb method suspend a rope diagonally across the room over which the strings may cross each string to be labeled at its source with the name of the member of the family or the friend tor for whom it Is intended A sheet can be hung across one end of the roam biding the gifts from view until time for winding the strings let all begin the quest at once it being necessary to find the beginnings of the strings where the names are attached this will afford considerable amusement as the strings should be run through keyholes under beds over transoms and even out of doors it if possible aside from the element of mystery contained in this method there Is the added val valia ja which attaches to those things which have been really earned trough rough ones own efforts |
