Christmas Traditions - Stollen & Fruit Cake

The fruitcake... The brunt of endless jokes at Christmas time. Some say it's heavy, not sweet and that there is only one in existance, circling the earth, being regifted from one person to the next. As I am not a fan of this Christmas cake I would tend to agree with the above statements. I am however a fan of it's sister... The German Stollen.

Dating back to the early 1400's the first Stollen was made in Dresden. During the time of Advent, Catholics were not allowed to use butter and milk in their baking so it was rather tasteless and heavy. Forty-years, several petitions and 6 popes later the bakers Guild of Dresden was given permission to use butter and milk in their Stollen but only for the Prince-Elector his family and household. Others could do so but would have to pay a fine which would go to building of a Minster (Church) in another city (Freiburg - quite a distance away)

It is now baked throughout Germany and the world and goes by many different names in German: Stollen, Dresden Stollen, Strutzel, Striezel, Stutenbrot, or Christstollen. The traditional German Christmas cake, is a colorful collection of nuts, raisins, currants, candied orange and lemon peel, traditional spices of Christmas such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, mace or cloves, brandy or rum and lots of butter. Personally, it has to have Marzipan in it as well. It's that little extra sweetness that does it for me

However,  just like "bubbly" can only be called "Champagne" if made in Champagne, only in Dresden can you get the official Dresden Stollen. Only 150 bakers make this "brand" which carries an official seal.

The shape of the cake was originally meant to represent the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes but now it can carry many different shapes and sizes. Although not as dense as fruitcake they have made one weighing over 4200 pounds

This was made in the city of Dresden for, get this, "Stollenfest". A festival for cake...
I am so there.

Christmas Traditions - Gingerbread House

Ah, gingerbread houses. Where would they be without Hanzel and Gretel?

Gingerbread was brought to Europe about 1000 years ago and was baked for religious ceremonies. Since Germany was the centre of the spice trade, ginger was in abundance. Due to this abundance the bakers were very creative baking gingerbread using molds of animals, fish, and bible scenes wieghing over 100 pounds.

Although no one knows when the first gingerbread house was made, odds are Nuremberg and it's Christmas Markets dating back to 1614 were probably where it was sold to the general public. In fact there was a Guild of master bakers called the Lebkuchlers that had exclusive rights to baking gingerbread in that city.

It probably wasn't until the brothers Grimm brought the tale of Hanzel and Gretel to the general populace of Europe and North America in the 1800's that the houses really caught on (went viral so to speak).

Now you can get completely insane creations

Our family cheated a bit with our gingerbread houses. My dad actually made ours out of cardboard. Decorated it with all the goodies... Marshmallows, gumdrops, icing etc... And then applied a very liberal layer of a shellac or something like that. At the end of the Christmas season we'd pack it away and pull it out the next year. I think one house lasted us on average 5 years or so, looked pretty good and it was as solid as a rock. Even the marshmallows.

Christmas Traditions - Weihnachtsmärkte

Liepzig Market

Something that I haven't yet experienced are the Christmas Markets in Germany. From my understanding, they pop up in nearly every city and town in Germany at the beginning of the Advent season in the town squares. Lights, music and the traditional food in the area are served up. Oh... and did I mention the drinks. Beer, this is Germany we're talking about after all, but also apple cider and a wonderful hot mulled wine called Glühwein.

Lübeck Market

They date back to the 14th century and you can buy baked goods, decorations, candles, toys and everything else Christmas related and yes, just like American malls, it gets incredibly busy.

Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt

The Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt is one of the older ones and has been going for almost 400 years.

As much as I don't like crowds this must be an amazing enviornment to be in.

Christmas Traditions - St. Nikolaus's Boot

Although North America has adopted a lot of European Christmas traditions (Christmas tree, Advent Calendar etc...) one that didn't catch on was St. Nikolaus's boot. This is a tradition that lots of European countries have (in the Netherlands I think they use clogs).

On the evening of December 5th, St. Nikolaus came to your house and put something in your boot. If you were good it was a small treat. If you were bad it was a lump of coal or a switch to punish the kids. Yikes. I always got a treat :) .

My parents took it a step further... They had St. Nikolaus come every day between the 6th and the 23rd. I think it was their attempt to keep me in line for the weeks leading up to Christmas. But if I was bad, very seldom I might add, they wouldn't put anything in the boot. I'm glad they didn't go the switch route.

Sometimes my enthusiasm to see what St. Nikolaus got the better of me. To this day I remember the night when I was around 4 years old and I didn't go to sleep right away. I heard something at the door and when the coast was clear I peeked out. When I checked, there was something in the boot. My parents weren't too pleased about the initiative I showed. I didn't sneak a peek after that incident.

This was a really fun tradition and I still have the boot (above) that I used, more than 35 years ago, that my 4 year old uses today.

Christmas Traditions - Advent Wreath

An Advent Wreath with candles was another sign that the Christmas season was here. It would be placed out on our living room table 4 Sundays before Christmas. We would light the first one on that Sunday night, two the next Sunday, three the next and all four on the Sunday before Christmas. On Christmas eve we would light all four and place a big candle in the centre and light that one too.

I loved the smell of those candles. The TV went off, Christmas music came on and we just relaxed and enjoyed the time together. The candles had such a warm glow and created such a cozy atmosphere.

This is a wonderful tradition that I'm carrying forward with my family.

The Advent wreath has some very powerful symbolism which was something I didn't realize growing up. The 4 candles can represent many things. Literally, it represents the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas. Metaphorically, each candle can also represent 1000 years of the 4000 years that passed between the time Adam and Eve and the birth of Christ.

The candles also remind us to remember those that we love and are with us today and those that have passed on. The candles also have a more formal reminder...
The first candle recalls the Patriarchs; the second recalls the Prophets; the third recalls St. John the Baptist and the final candle recalls Our Lady. The progressive lighting of the candles also symbolizes the growing expectation and hope of Christ coming into the world and the anticipation of his second coming.

We usually used red candles but the symbolism can be carried further by using 3 vilot and one rose coloured one (used on the 3rd week). This represents the colours used by the priests during the mass for that week. Cool.

The circular wreath itself represents eternity and the greenery is symbolizes hope and renewal.

It's such a small thing but it is such a powerful reminder of why we celebrate the Christmas season.

Christmas Traditions - Advent Calendar

I loved advent calendars. They were the first signs that Christmas was getting close. Aside from the Christmas decorations going up in the stores right after Halloween.

For some reason, the ones with the glitter made it a little more special. They all have 24 windows/doors and the first few that were given to had a cute picture of a toy or Christmas theme when you opened the door. I didn't get ones that had chocolate behind each door until I was older. I think I prefer the ones with the pictures now, although I've actually order one with Marzipan treats inside from my hometown in Lübeck, Germany. Although, It had a market scene like the calendar above.

Now everyone seems to make one. Lindt, Nestle; Even playmobile and Lego have them now. The marketing machine at full power.

I bought one for my eldest (4 years old) and it helps her learn the days and, best of all, keeps her from asking every day if it's Christmas yet.

One of the nicest things about the calendar scenes is that you could emmerse yourself in the scene and image what a wonderful time everyone is having there.

My dad loved big cars. Thunderbird, Buick Riviera, Mercury Cougar.
He owned a couple of these monsters and we also had a plymouth caravelle (diplomat). I loved looking through the little back window and sticking my head out either of the windows. Remember... No seatbelts.

Elevators

My father worked as a building superindendent for a few years and owned a  cleaning company for several more. Due to these jobs he spent an lot of time in them, using them, moving heavy equipment in them, understanding how they work and with all that time in them... getting stuck as well. It's this experience that he passed along to me. I remember him telling me that whenever he got stuck in an elevator he would pry the doors open and climb out to the closest floor.

It's due to this advice that I've been able to not have to wait for building security to open the elevator doors for me. I've been stuck 3 times so far and each time I've been able to open the doors and get out. Twice I was alone and the third time I asked the group if it was OK to do so. For some reason they didn't seem to mind. The trickiest part is to get a good grip on the door which can sometimes be difficult, especially with those shiny stainless steel doors. Pressing hard enough while pulling the door open with your fingertips just enough to slip your fingers into the opening and from there you can pull the door open.

Thanks for the advice dad

It's not KFC

Had the double down a couple of days ago. Not bad. Great chicken breast but a bit salty for my taste and not sure I'd pay $8 for it again. Besides... Nothing beats the original recipe and format.

Also... We're talking Kentucky Fried Chicken, not KFC. Taking the direct reference to fried in the title doesn't make it healthy. Loved the 3 piece meal which used to be accompanied by the standard fries. They got rid of these and replaced them with ones that had a weird crispy batter around it. I didn't think they could make fries less healthy but I guess it holds the grease better. Then I always had the nuclear green coleslaw with it and even though I love it, you can't convince me that that is a naturally occuring colour. There was also the garlic bread. I always enjoyed this part of it. Simple and good. It's something I really miss that I wish they would bring back.

It was really all part of the packaging. From the red/orange, white and black colours on the box to the lemon scented wet wipes they included with the cutlery, pack which also had a fork, knife, spoon, salt, pepper and napkin. Now you're lucky to get a fork and the wet wipe. I'm sure it gives shareholders an extra $0.01/dividend by taking all those things out of the pack.

One of the reasons I think this is etched so deep into my memory is because it was part of a family tradition. On sunny Sundays we used to go and pick up a bucket from the KFC on the corner, which is still there, and go to the park to have a picnic. It was a time where we would invite relatives along to enjoy the day and soak up the sun.

It's strange how something like Kentucky Fried Chicken can be associated with a family tradition but I'm sure this is something that most companies would kill to achieve

Here's a piggy bank my grandfather had that I found a picture of on ebay. I always thought it was neat. Looking at a sanpshot of it now though, it looks kinda creepy.

Seat Belts?

We don't need no stinkin' seat belts. When I was young the province of Ontario in Canada didn't have any seat belt requirements for kids, let alone the use of booster seats. What the heck was a booster seat. When I was growing up the seat of choice wasn't a seat. It was standing up behind the driver, typically my dad, grabbing onto the headrest like it was a second steering wheel. Man that was nuts, but did we ever have fun as kids in the back of the car. 

My best friend's dad had a station wagon which took the fun to a whole other level. We would pile into the trunk area of the station wagon and basically have a party back there. His parents didn't mind too much since there was an extra row of seats between them and the chaos.

Was it dangerous? I guess. But we really weren't as paranoid about safety as we are today. I thought my dad was fairly lax when it came to seat belts. I'm thinking this family's safety wasn't top of mind either.