Holiday Traditions
- Thread starter 2hott4u
- Start date
That's why we make a big deal about going to church every Sunday, esp during the holiday season, and reading from the Bible on Christmas morning. We talk about the reason behind the season. We also only give our kids 3 gifts each, to symbolize the 3 gifts Jesus got at birth. We do stockings and that is the only thing Santa gives them.
The traditions comes from the observance of the Cena della Vigilia, the wait for the miraculous birth of Christ in which early Christians Catholics fasted on Christmas Eve until after receiving communion at Midnight Mass. Then it evolved into eating seafood and non-meat items. Once midnight mass is over, we head home a chow down on the Christmas ham.
Hey Lewis, as far as dips...We have marinara sauce, cocktail sauce, some yummy garlic dip for various seafoods and beer bread, Artichoke and spinach cheese dips. Then we have various cheeses (Asiago, Fontinella, Swiss, Provolone, etc...) with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, various hot peppers and several different types of olives set out as well to pick on.
Calamari is breaded and fried and we also stuff it and bake it. Clams are Linguini in red and white clam sauce, shrimp is coctail or grilled, regular steamed crablegs. Baccala takes a couple days to prepare and it is usually baked in a garlic butter sauce and with tomato sauce. The smelts are breaded and fried. I won't even get into the Italian cookies and desserts...LOL
There are a few here to get you going, I will get my mom's recipe off of her if I remember when I go over there for dinner tomorrow. Beer Bread I - Allrecipes
Falco1 - My new best friend!
Guys get everyone making beer bread. look how easy it is...
INGREDIENTS
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
3 cups self-rising flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and flour. Add beer and continue to mix, first using a wooden spoon, then your hands. Batter will be sticky. Pour into a 9 x 5 inch greased loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees ) for 50 for 60 minutes. The top will be crunchy, and the insides will be soft. Serve topped with butter or cheese spread.
Guys get everyone making beer bread. look how easy it is...
INGREDIENTS
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
3 cups self-rising flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and flour. Add beer and continue to mix, first using a wooden spoon, then your hands. Batter will be sticky. Pour into a 9 x 5 inch greased loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees ) for 50 for 60 minutes. The top will be crunchy, and the insides will be soft. Serve topped with butter or cheese spread.
Yes, it stems from the Catholic religion, which 99% of Italians are. But as far as the Christmas Eve thing, Italians are the only nationality that I know of that celebrate it that way. I coulbe be wrong......
Glad I can help bud. It is great stuff and I will hunt down the garlic dip recipe for you because it is awesome on the beer bread.
Well, as you last year, I got to start all new traditions, since I have the alternate when I have my boys. This year, I get them on 12-25 at 2pm until 12-31 at 12pm. So, We will have Christmas dinner at my folks that evening. They will also get to see what Santa brought them, while they were with there mom. On Christmas Eve for the first time in 34 years, I will be at church. Then I will most likely have a meal with my brother.
It's not only the Italians - the Polish/Slovaks have a similar tradition (Wigilia I think it's spelled). Meat is abstained from and a fast is held throughout the day. This continues until the family comes to table to begin the vigil dinner. An extra place setting is set for the Christ Child, or the space held open for the weary traveler. Each person's plate has a blessed wafer about the size of a greeting card on it. By tradition, the youngest person present watches the night sky, announcing when the first star is seen. The candles are then lit, and the electric lights put out. Grace is then said, and each person picks up their wafer and holds it out to the person sitting next to them and that person does likewise. Good wishes and blessings are exchanged and each person breaks off a piece of the other person's wafer, and eating it (thus breaking the fast). This is done between each and every person in the room, so that all will have broken bread together by the time it's done. Next follows the toast (wine of course), with (again) good wishes for the hosts, remembrances for those not present, and hope for the coming year. The meal proper then begins, with the usual passing of various plates of fried seafood (or boiled perhaps) and your typical holiday dinnertime chatter. We knew the tradition from our mom, but once she and my grandmother passed away we drifted apart from that side of the family - not on purpose -just one of those things, and the observance of that tradition disappeared. Some years later my aunt (my dad's sister) revived it and we've been doing it since.
Thanks Stingo, that is intersting. I did not know that. My Wife's mother is Slovak, she does have some seafood on xmas eve, but she also has meat. However, she does have the wafer that you spoke of. When I go to her house, I just eat everything but the meat.
It's funny, my dad's side is of Irish extraction, but I guess my aunt was so taken by the Wigilia feast she took it upon herself to revive the tradition. I could be wrong about some things, but that was always the way we celebrated Christmas Eve when I was growing up.
Now, a more private tradition is coming home after said meal, pouring a glass of port or barleywine, starting a fire in the fireplace, and putting some music on (Christmas Night, by the Cambridge Singers/Rutter), while listening for the sounds of sleigh bells through the night.
Allen, I'll just go over the important posts.
I thorght you should know that the fitness.com Xmas party will be at your next year. I kinda invited a few ppl...
well..
Everybody!
I thorght you should know that the fitness.com Xmas party will be at your next year. I kinda invited a few ppl...
well..
Everybody!