Christmas Day and its festival are a curious blend of Christian, Jewish, Roman, Western pagan, and perhaps other institutions. It arose as a Christian festival as part of the adaptation of the early Christian Church to the world in which it grew up.
Christmas dinner is the primary meal traditionally eaten on Christmas Day. It is often seen as the main event of the day for which family members gather together spreading good will, tidings and rejoicing in the holiday season.
- 1 cup of all purpose flour
- 1 cup corn meal
- 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt ½ tsp. dried basil leaves
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup cooked corn kernels
- 1/3 cup chopped black olives [75]
- ¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes [50]
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease muffin cups or line them with papers.
Combine first 6 dry ingredients.
Beat eggs, milk, and oil in large bowl. Add dry ingredients, mixing lightly just until blended. Stir in corn, olives, and sun dried tomatoes. Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling about ¾ full.
Bake in centre of preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.
- 8 navel oranges (about 4½ lbs.) or 14 lemons (about 4½ lbs.)
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
Using a paring knife, quarter the fruit lengthwise, cutting through the peel only. Remove each quarter of peel from the fruit. Save the flesh of the fruit for another use. Place the peels in a 4 to 6 quart pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and allow cooling. Using a tablespoon, carefully dig out most of the white pith on the peels and discard. Julienne the peels lengthwise into ¼ inch strips and set aside.
Return the pot to the burner and add 2 cups of the sugar and the 1 cup water. Heat to dissolve the sugar. Add the julienned peel and simmer gently, covered, 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove the peel to drain on a fine mesh cooling rack with a pan underneath. Spread the peel out so it will drain evenly. Allow to cool and dry out for 1 hour. Place the drained dry peel in a large bowl and toss with the remaining 2 cups of sugar until evenly coated. Sift the excess sugar through your hands. Place the sugar-coated peel on a baking sheet and allow to dry overnight. Store in canning jars up to 2 weeks.
- 1 lb. light brown sugar
- 1 lb. confectioners’ sugar
- ½ lb. butter, at room temperature
- 1 qt. vanilla ice cream, slightly melted
- Light rum
- Ground nutmeg for Garnish
In a large bowl, blend the first four ingredients together well. Add rum to taste and garnish with nutmeg.
Place a pint of milk in a food blender and add 2 or 3 tablespoons of honey. You can warm the honey in the microwave for a minute so that it will be well blended and frothy. Whip the mixture for just a minute and then pour into glasses and serve.
Christmas is the feast commemorating the birth of Christ. It is fixed in the liturgical year as December 25th and is preceded by four week of fasting called Advent.