What is the traditional Christmas dish you grew up with?

Brothers of Briar

Help Support Brothers of Briar:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
We're having a ham and homemade stuffed cabbage, a Hungarian recipe my great grandmother brought over from the old country.
 
Good old ham. Keeping with the tradition I bought a fresh one from a farm close by this year. I was going to grill it, but it was pouring down rain Monday so I cooked it in the oven. That way we can just slam it on some biscuits today and continue having fun. Have a great and Merry Christmas to everyone.
 
As a child we always had a Sara Lee pecan coffee cake on Christmas morning. It was the only time we ever ate it. My wife and I go on a quest for one every year, and sometimes have to get a special order at the Kroger. This year, we went to all the stores and no one stocked the pecan coffee cakes. Someone gave us an almond kringle, and we went with that instead.
 
We're missing a big part of our tradition this year, actually. My wife is Mexican, and we usually have a Christmas gathering with her family either Christmas eve or Christmas day, but this year it just didn't happen. So, I'm really missing these:

image38.jpg
 
That sucks! I love Tamales what kind do they make? I try to make them every once in a while, but I lack the proper knowledge, they turn out ok but never as good as some real tamales I have had
 
We had a rotating cast of three dishes, Roasted sesame leg of lamb with potato gratin, cioppino, or dunginess crab dinner. Always delicious and memorable.
 
Puff Daddy":jrvq3t0u said:
We're missing a big part of our tradition this year, actually. My wife is Mexican, and we usually have a Christmas gathering with her family either Christmas eve or Christmas day, but this year it just didn't happen. So, I'm really missing these:

image38.jpg
Click to expand...
We've been a beneficiary of a large family Christmas Eve tamale making fest. So good.
 
BigCasino":tyojde5z said:
That sucks! I love Tamales what kind do they make? I try to make them every once in a while, but I lack the proper knowledge, they turn out ok but never as good as some real tamales I have had
Click to expand...
Pork!! :pig: 
 
Pork is my favorite, I made some with some Chicken and chipotle peppers once that turned out pretty decent
 
Interesting traditions.  I especially the concept of "traditional American" as that would change by geography and over time.  Except, perhaps, for turkey, which was a New World bird and cranberries.  My student's would always laugh at my "oyster stew" comments when describing food traditions, but many where amazed when I told them that outside of this region, almost no one has ham-hocks and black eyed peas on New Years Day.  Most thought it was an American tradition that everyone observed for good luck in the coming year.  All cultural traits have origins and evolve over time.  My wife's Polish tradition was polish sausage (the real stuff from a Polish butcher, not the oversized smoke-links that the major meat companies pass off as "Polish Sausage!).  Polish sausage with a good hearty rye bread and horseradish doesn't go with oyster stew, yet my daughter has grown up thinking this is her Christmas tradition.  

I remember in 3rd grade (about the age when you realize everyone in the world does't have the same traditions you do) there was this cute, little Italian girl in my class.  We were all excited, being the last day of school before the Christmas break, and we're hungry, as it was just before lunch.  I remember saying how I couldn't wait for Christmas Eve for my grandma's wonderful foods.  She agreed and started waxing about her great Uncle's clam linguine.  Clam linguine!!! Everyone eats oyster stew on Christmas Eve I barked back.  She looked at me like I was from planet Zorkan, as she was sure everyone had clam linguine in Christmas Eve, and I called her the worst name of my young repertoire.  Only communists eat that, I replied!  (Remember, this was back in the later 1950s, the Cold War was on, and being a commie was as bad as I could imagine).  


Natch
 
Puff Daddy":l1axr6o4 said:
We're missing a big part of our tradition this year, actually. My wife is Mexican, and we usually have a Christmas gathering with her family either Christmas eve or Christmas day, but this year it just didn't happen. So, I'm really missing these:

image38.jpg
Click to expand...
My wife is also Mexican so it's Home-made Tamales, Tortillas, Chile Colorado and Carne Arnevada.

My mother used to painstakingly make Divinity and Patience.

Best,
 
We have a few Xmas traditional feasts. My late grandma used to make tradional head cheese which is something I've taken over since her passing. I also make Beef Barley Ox Tail soup, Deer Jerky, Smoked Fish (either white fish or salmon), and Pickled Herring.
My mother always makes my other gramma's family reciept of homemade noodles smothered in butter. And it's always a treat when someone on my wifes side makes homemade perogies and cabbage rolls and borsche.

Coming from a very large family we used to travel to seven different places in three days with large meals at five of them. To say we had are fill of turkey would be an understatement. With the passing of alot of the older generation we started a new tradition of steak & lobster on Xmas day.
 
We were very poor. One year Ma' took a roll of SPAM from the State Commodities Office grant and rolled it in mashed potato and roasted it. Looking back that was one of the most delicious ChristMass dinners I can remember. Ma' and Da' lost the house after I went to VietNam. Family made it though. Every once and a while for ChristMass we have that same SPAM roll just to remember; and, it tastes as good as memory permits.
Been married for 46 years; ChristMass Dinner for "our" side now:
A toast to our gracious Lady, Her Majesty the Queen
a. Old English Roast Beef
b. Yorkshire pudding
c. curried PorkPie
d. Beef and Barley Soup
e. Roast vegetables, traditionally Parsnips, Carrots, Shallots, Potato bedded under the roast and served with a Claret reduction
f. ChristMass Plum pudding, flamed served with Rum hard sauce
g. Mince Pie,
h. Wareham bears, Cresssing Buttercreme Biscuits, Essex shortcakes
Retire to the solarium with a bowl of 'Presbyterian' or Stokkebye's 'Proper English 1025' and a nice glass [two fingers] Bowmore Islay Legend [8] and let the fragrant clouds roll.
Never varies

regards
ChiefBull
Anchor'sAweigh/SemperFi
 
Sounds like a properly British Christmas meal Chief. I'm hungry.
 
The holidays were the busy season at my house when I was a kid. My father was an Episcopal priest, and so it was all about church and the Christmas pageant with less time for things like family meals. That coffee cake we had Christmas morning was about all that was going to happen at that point. We enjoyed it. These days, my wife and I are the ones with the services Christmas Eve. She ran by my church after her first service and brought Chinese takeout this year. We ate in the parish hall between my second and third service that night.

The Chinese takeout may become our new family tradition for Christmas Eve.
 
We attached ourselves to this many years ago. ChristMass is a sacred day to us and it is properly English in many of its aspects. Oh, it's easy to 'hate' the Brits; they have sinned greatly. But, they are a great people and there would be no Parliament in India but for Simon de Montfort [who gave us the Mother of Parliaments] and the Lord Cornwallis Reforms, let alone parliamentary consentual government anywhere. Our great Church hymns though they may be of Teuton heritage are English orchestrated. English culture in all of its warted human glory is a good thing to celebrate, and there is no better a time than ChristMass, and yes we celebrate 'Boxing Day' the next day; there is 'the other' who needs a ha'pence too. Good hearing from you Father Tom.
Our grandchildren study and are voice trained in the Royal College of Liturgical and Sacred Hymn; and yes we are Roman. But we're still English in our backgrounds, and England is still a shining [if somewhat beleaguered] light for all. We can hold those sentiments and still all be good Americans.

regards
ChiefBull
Anchor'sAweigh/SemperFi
 
Fr_Tom said:
The holidays were the busy season at my house when I was a kid. My father was an Episcopal priest, and so it was all about church and the Christmas pageant...

Interesting comment.  Both my parents started out teaching in a two room school (mother taught K-4, and dad 5-8 and was principle) in the woods of Northern Wisconsin.  Each year, at the end of December, the County Board of Education would meet and decide if they would keep their jobs after the following spring and if they would or would not get a raise.  They both agreed that how the school Christmas pageant went in early December was probably the #1 factor determining if they got a raise of not.  One year, my mom was quite ill and dad, lacking musical or theatrical talent had to organize and run the pageant, no raise that year.  The next year, mom was OK and being a music major and an over abundance ot theatrical flair, she created quite the Christmas extravaganza, for a small, north-woods lumber town (brought sheep, goats, doves and a mule with a fake hump to look like a camel into the school for dramatic affect). She cast a small, handicapped child (polio) with a wonderful voice as one of the wise men.  The kid was from a somewhat outcast family and no one ever paid the family or this sickly, hobbling kid any mind.  He sang a solo that had the entire board and every parent in tears it was so beautiful.  Biggest raise they ever got, (and more importantly, he became quite the hero in town and everyone wanted him to sing at their wedding or special occasion).  

So even in the "public schools" of the north country back in the 1930s, the Christmas pageant was very important.

Natch
Click to expand...
 
Fr_Tom":0o4ypprx said:
The holidays were the busy season at my house when I was a kid. My father was an Episcopal priest, and so it was all about church and the Christmas pageant with less time for things like family meals. That coffee cake we had Christmas morning was about all that was going to happen at that point. We enjoyed it. These days, my wife and I are the ones with the services Christmas Eve. She ran by my church after her first service and brought Chinese takeout this year. We ate in the parish hall between my second and third service that night.

The Chinese takeout may become our new family tradition for Christmas Eve.
Click to expand...
God bless you and your folks. That sacrifice meant a lot to someone.

Best,
 
Top