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On Christmas
MINCE PIES
Where do these traditions actually come from? The Victorians? The Germans? Or was it Coca-Cola?” In reality, many have ancient origins and have been influenced by poetry, newspaper cartoons and royalty along the way. From stockings to mistletoe, here is how some elements have become ‘Essentially Christmas’.
Mince pies used to be known as Christmas pies, or crib pies, as their oblong shape was meant to resemble Jesus’ cradle. The pies were initially made of meat, usually mutton, and influenced by crusaders who came back from the Middle East with spices. In the 18th century the pies became sweeter, with the import of sugar from slave plantations in the West Indies.
EATING TURKEY
Turkey reigns supreme as the traditional Christmas Day meal in Britain and legend has it King Henry VIII was the first English monarch to eat turkey on Christmas Day, having had it imported from America. The introduction of refrigerators in the 1950s brought turkey into the mainstream and onto dining tables around the country.
WHY DO WE PULL CRACKERS?
Crackers are a Victorian invention, created by a sweet maker who wanted a novel way of selling his wares after sales slumped. Tom Smith was watching a fire crackle when he thought what a fun idea it would be if his sweets could be opened with a crack when their fancy wrappers were pulled in half. They were initially sold as “cosaques”, named after Russian Cossack soldiers who had a reputation for riding on horseback firing guns into the air!
But a roast dinner is not the norm for the rest of the world. The Germans eat goose with sauerkraut - and have been doing since 1350! In the Philippines, a spit-roasted pig is the main dish, served with cheese, pasta and spring rolls. And who says marketing doesn’t work... After a successful advertising campaign by Kentucky Fried Chicken in the 70’s which convinced the Japanese into believing that KFC was a traditional Christmas meal, for the past four decades, nearly 4M Japanese enjoy a specially put together KFC Christmas box each year - it even includes a Christmas cake!
WHY WE HAVE TREES
Trees have been decorated throughout history - from the Pagans to the Romans - but the first known person to bring a tree indoors was the German religious reformer Martin Luther. Germans decorated their trees with edible goods and glass decorations. Silver tinsel was originally made in Germany, too. In 1846, Prince Albert (from Germany!) and Queen Victoria were sketched standing around their Christmas tree, after which they became a must-have. 38
BOXING DAY
Boxing Day has its origins in the practice of giving presents and money to poor people. One legend has it that the British upper classes gave tradespeople and servants boxes of food and fruit as a seasonal tip. Others believe that boxes full of alms - to give to the needy - were left in churches over the Christmas period and on Boxing Day these were collected and distributed.
