Christmas in the Florida panhandle

	*Merry Christmas!*
	No matter how the season was and is celebrated, the essence of the holiday always comes through. Amid all the hustle and bustle and the commercialism, the feelings of giving and love abound everywhere. Kindness is rampant! Peace and goodwill echo around the world. Is it any wonder so many of our loved ones choose this time of year to leave us? They are "leaving on a happy note!"
	This year family and friends will want to be held more closely than ever before! Please, do so! Share all the love you can and it will spill over into the rest of the year and to the rest of the world. God grant you a Joyous Holiday season and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!
	. . . I pray that on this day [Christmas] when only peace and good-will are preached to mankind, better thoughts may fill the hearts of our enemies and turn them to peace. Robert E. Lee (an excerpt)
	Christmas in the panhandle in the mid to late 1800s would certainly have been different than it is today. The people were of course less wealthy than we in one way, while rich in others that we can hardly imagine. Commercialism had not reached them as yet and the desire to offer the best they had to their guests was inherent in their nature. When there was reason to take a break from their hard labors, they took advantage of it! One would imagine that various things would have entered into the equation that determined how much or how little decoration, entertaining and such was done. (How many children, time and money, or imagination one had, for instance) Christmas traditions in America were mixtures of those from all over the globe. Some were mixtures of religious and secular and celebrated on various days in December. Since many of our families hailed from Alabama and it was the first state to set the 25th of December as the official day to celebrate Christmas, we can imagine that this is when our folks did as well. Church suppers and celebrations would figure slightly into the festivities as churches were the center of the social environment for most. However until fairly recently the services would have been the most important part of any Christmas celebration at church. During the rest of the year singings went on at the churches, but I don't think they had plays and caroling at Christmas.
	In slave owning households before the Civil War, the Yule log would be lit and for the time it was kept burning, there would be no work (except for the people who had cooking and cleaning to do for the celebrations). This was often for the full 12 days of Christmas. Fireworks and noisemaking was traditional. Gift giving had been going on since soon after the first Christmas and when the idea of a Santa Claus-type figure came about, leaving gifts for him or his helpers became commonplace. The custom of giving to animals hails from many cultures and we gladly picked it up. Children would find some goodies for the reindeer even as they left cookies for Santa.
	Celebrations would have consisted of family and friends gathering for meals and perhaps playing cards or any number of other social pursuits of the time. The lady of the house would have budgeted her money and resources carefully so that she could provide the best meal and drinks available. She would have fattened a turkey or other fowl and perhaps a pig for the occasion. Arrangements would have been made far in advance to be sure she had ample flour, butter, sugar, oranges, apples and anything else she needed. She would probably have carefully laid straw over some of her best carrots, beets or other vegetables so she would have some to serve.
	The menu would consist of the finest meat they had available and any fresh garden vegetables that might still be in the garden. There would be sweet potatoes, pies and cakes. Likely the pies would be of berries picked and preserved earlier in the year for special occasions. Blueberries, blackberries, mulberries would all have been theirs for the picking and could have been canned for later use. Each family probably had a special item that they relished but were not able to have often. Christmas would be the time to enjoy it as a special treat. Up here in the frozen north, seafood that would have been a common table item in the panhandle, is a Christmas treat for me. That's when I splurge on oysters for example (oh, yes, they are a bit cheaper then, too!).
	One menu I read sounds great: Creamy Seafood Bisque, Ham sliced wafer thin to go on beaten biscuits, angel biscuits and butter, whole wheat biscuits and cream gravy, green beans and bacon, collards, stewed tomatoes, sweet potatoes, jam cake, cheese pie, and cookies. Garlands and fresh greens were more common very early in the century, but after the Civil War trees became common. Firs were not to be had, but any tree or bush would do. The forests were full of hollies and their berries would be part of the ornaments on doors, windows and trees. Mistletoe abounded as well. You can imagine it got used!
	While researching for this article, I came across what I believe is the genesis of an ornament we made as children (and I still make today) — decorated walnuts. The item I read suggests that a hostess carefully open walnuts and then insert a trinket inside, place one end of a ribbon in it and glue the 2 halves together. She is then to pile them into a bowl as gifts for her guests. (This tradition of painted nutshells actually comes from Europe.) We treated ours as above but with no trinket and then either painted them with gold or silver paint, or rolled them in glitter. They were then proudly hung on our tree along with similarly treated tiny pinecones.
	Trees were usually decorated with edible things; cookies, candies, apples and oranges as well as popcorn strings. If cranberries were available they would be added, perhaps 2 kernels of popcorn and one cranberry with the pattern repeated to the end of the string. Little baskets were fashioned of paper, cloth, or doilies and tied with bright ribbons. They were filled with treats and tied to the end of the branches. Can you imagine a house full of children making cookies to hang on the tree? Or the joy of children cutting out paper birds and animals? Candles were sometimes used to illuminate the trees, so care had to be taken not to use flammable materials in that case. The imagination of the family was the only limiting factor in what was used on the tree as ornaments. Dolls made of yarn or clothespins, colorfully wrapped candies, paper roses, buttons sewn on ribbons, painted wooden cutouts (or whittled ones) are just a few things used. If one was wealthy, or had access to the newer hand blown glass ornaments imported from Germany, one might have a few of them to add to the collection. Cardboard pieces printed especially for the purpose could be purchased to make ornaments. They would have cloth, ribbon or tinsel added; in some cases they would become the basis for a doll or Santa figure.
	I can remember as a child spending days, getting ornaments and cookies ready for the tree, then spending the better part of a day decorating it. We never put many decorations around the house, just on the tree. We had a recipe mom had gotten from a German lady at our church. It was a family heirloom and we enjoyed making the cookies. Often some of the ended up on the tree with candy canes. I will include the recipe for Lebkuchen here even though it cannot be said to be a recipe of the area. I am sure it is from the era, so we will cheat just a little. Perhaps you will enjoy it.
	Many toys would have been homemade. Dad might have carved toys for his children, or worked extra hard to buy a doll, while mom might have made doll clothes after the kids were in bed. A dollhouse or cradle would be something a father might make for one of his girls. As children got older, gifts consisted of handmade clothes, handkerchiefs finely embroidered, a belt dad had made from a hide he had tanned, new shoes or the like. Often special items might be given for a girl's "hope chest." Perhaps in the evenings mom had labored for months to make a special quilt for her daughter or dad had bartered with the smith down the road for a skillet. Sons might receive a new gun. Gifts were few, but carefully thought out.
	Lebkuchen 1 c. honey 1 egg, well beaten Grated rind of one lemon 2 T lemon juice 2/3 c. packed dark-brown sugar 1/2 c. almonds slivered or chopped fine 1/2 c. minced citron 2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour (instant type can be used) 1 t cinnamon 1/2 t each ground cloves, allspice, mace, freshly grated nutmeg, soda, and salt Glaze Blanched almonds, citron, or angelica (optional) Heat honey just under boiling point in a saucepan. (Use a full-flavored honey such as clover or orange-blossom.) Cool to lukewarm. Add egg, lemon rind, juice, and brown sugar. Mix nuts and citron with 1/4 cup of flour. Mix remaining flour with spices, soda and salt. Combine honey mixture with dry ingredients. Add nuts and citron and mix with hands. Put in bowl, cover with foil or waxed paper and set in refrigerator for 12 or more hours. Divide dough in quarters and roll each into a 6 x 4 1/2" rectangle. With pastry wheel, cut each into six 3 x 1 1/2" cookies (or cut with your favorite cookie cutters. Place on a buttered cookie sheet 2" apart and spread with glaze. Decorate with halves of blanched almonds and thin slivers of citron or angelica, or leave plain. Put in hot oven (400 degrees). Reduce heat at once to 375 degrees and bake 15 to 20 min. or until cookies just test done. Do not bake until hard and dry: these should be chewy and moist. If you intend to hang these on the tree, put a hole in the top of each cookie before baking or take them out and quickly run a toothpick or skewer through them. Glaze: Beat 1 egg white until stiff. Fold in 2/3 c. confectioners’ sugar, dash of salt and 1/4 t vanilla or lemon juice. Note: Sometimes the cookies are baked without glazing or they are glazed while warm, after baking, especially if they are to be decorated for Christmas gifts. Keeps well airtight, freezes and ships well, also. I remember refrigerating this dough for a week before baking, to let all the flavors meld.
	Christmas Cake "This is a most effective cake, both in color and design. The original from which the illustration was taken was much more striking in its bold colorant. The sides were frosted in white, with a wide gold-edged band, around which was a red or crimson ribbon tied in a large bow. The large bottom border graduated out to the board, was piped in scroll, and the outer edge finished with cherries and angelica, which made an effective band right around the cake. The top was frosted in sage-green, with the writing in rustic letters done in coffee color. There were also sprays of holly and mistletoe and fruit to complete the top decoration. The top border was bold build-up scroll, with fine wavy piping falling in festoons down the side of the cake." [Talk about extreme everything. This sounds to me about as Victorian as Christmas could be.] The book lists a number of qualities of cake, including one to compete with mass produced cakes "...frosted and piped at one shilling each". The top of the line cake follows: "The general idea at this time of year is to make something of the rich fruity order, but when, as is the case with a large percentage of Christmas cake, it is to be eaten by children, the business of the confectioner is to introduce such cakes as may be freely eaten by clients of all ages. Recipes are given here for three different qualities of dark fruit cake, and for a golden-raisin cake, which is in great request for nurseries." 3 LB butter 3 LB (6 3/4 C) Sugar 32 Large Eggs 3 1/2 LB (12 1/2 C) Flour 3/4 LB (2 3/4 C) Patent Flour 10 LB Currents 1 1/2 LB Cut Almonds 5 LB Candied Peel, Chopped a little Apple Pie Spice Cream up the butter and sugar, and beat in the eggs in the usual way. Stir in the flours, fruit, etc., and thoroughly mix. Fill into papered cake hoops which are placed on well covered baking sheets. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees)
	I am sure my grandmother would have really loved this one: Roasted Parsnips 1/2 a parsnip per person vegetable cooking fat, such as Crisco (not butter flavored) Peel the parsnips, using a potato peeler. Cut off and discard the tops and bottoms and slice each parsnip vertically in half. Put into a pan of boiling water and cook for six or seven minutes. Meanwhile, in a shallow roasting pan, melt 3-4 T Crisco and allow to become very hot in the top of the oven. Drain the partially cooked parsnips and allow to steam for 20-30 seconds to get rid of loose moisture. Carefully spread the parsnips in the roasting pan and sprinkle very lightly with salt. Turn so that all sides are covered in the oil. Bake for about 45 minutes, turning a few times until browned and crispy on the outsides and soft and succulent inside. Potatoes are roasted in the same way, but take a little longer: 10 minutes to pre-boil and about an hour to roast. Some southern Christmas superstitions found in The Reader's Digest Book of Christmas. Don't wash and press a Christmas present before giving it, or you will wash out the good luck and press in the bad. Make a start of your year's work between Christmas and January fifth — a bit of ditching, a little plowing — to "show your intentions." But never fix your roof between Christmas and New Year's or the holes will come right back. Leave a loaf of bread on the table after Christmas Eve supper and you will have a full supply until the next Christmas. Eat an apple as the clock strikes twelve on Christmas Eve and you will have good health throughout the coming year. If you let the fire go out on Christmas morning, spirits will come to you then and later in the season. To improve your luck, wear something new on Christmas Day. But not new shoes. They will hurt, and may even walk you into a catastrophe.
	Christmas pages: http://www.connerprairie.org/historyonline/xmas.html http://jeh.5u.com/christmas/victoria.htm http://www.victoriana.com/christmas/ Recipes: http://www.biblicalquality.com/Christmas7.html Cards — it was 1900 or so before they were used heavily, but 1860s saw them become popular. They were beautiful and often not specific to Christmas, rather of beautiful birds or scenery. The sentiments were what suggested the season.
	Christmas Bells Written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow after his son was wounded in the Civil War I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth good-will to men! And thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along The unbroken song Of peace on earth, good-will to men! Till, ringing, swinging on its way, The world revolved from night to day A voice, a chime, A chant sublime Of peace on earth, good-will to men! Then from each black, accursed mouth The cannon thundered in the South And with the sound The carols drowned Of peace on earth, good-will to men! It was as if an earthquake rent The heart-stones of a continent, And made forlorn The households born Of peace on earth, good-will to men! And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said; "For hate is strong And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men! Then pealed the bells more loud and deep, "God is not dead; nor doth He sleep! The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, Of peace on earth, good-will to men!