Christmas Food

by Omisha Lim Phaik Chern Ng, Class of 2017

It’s that time of the year again! The twinkling of lights by the streets, houses filled with joy and laughter, Christmas-themed cakes sold in bakeries and Michael Bublé’s Christmas album repeating in every shopping mall that you walk into. The main focus of this article is on Christmas foods but I would first like to explain a little about Christmas. Well, Christmas is not only known as the day of Jesus Christ’s birth, but it is also an international holiday around the world. Businesses and its employees take time off to gather with their families at home and celebrate Christmas. Some families even go overseas to spend their Christmases in actual snow. 

        

In the spirit of Christmas, my family and I get together at my grandfather’s house every year. Usually in such a celebration, we would find ourselves with plenty of food laid out on the table to commemorate the joyful occasion. Along with the food, we enjoy each other's company and catch up with relatives.

Now to get on to the feasts of Christmas! There are many traditional Christmas foods that you will find during this time of the year. One I would like to talk about is the fruit cake. Fruit cake is cake baked with dried fruits and nuts. Fruit cakes are also known as the Christmas Cake. Fruit cakes are almost always included on every Christmas menu because they are a delightful addition to the range of food that is brought to the celebration. The fruit cake originated from England; it evolved from plum cake recipes.

Then besides the fruit cake, we also have mince pies amongst the smorgasbord of delicious deserts! The mince pie was originally filled with minced meat, fruit, spices and alcohol. This savoury desert goes back 600 years in British history. King Henry the Fifth was a great fan of them and was served mince pie at his coronation in 1413. 

Now, let’s talk about eggnog! Although it may be uncommon in our society, you may be interested to know about it. Eggnog is a nice and warm beverage sold during Christmas time. It is made out of whipped eggs, sugar, cream and milk. It can be finished up by garnishing with powdered cinnamon or pumpkin spice on the top surface of the beverage. Most people would agree that Eggnog originated from the early medieval time of Britain. Milk, eggs, and sherry were foods of the wealthy, so eggnog was often used as a toast to prosperity and good health. 

There are many other foods that one can find aplenty during the Christmas season. Putting aside the drinks and desert, there's also talk of appetizers and mains. A hearty roast is common for the main dish with beef and turkeys being a popular choice. Of course, a roast would be incomplete without its complementary gravy and sides like boiled vegetables or mashed potato. My mouth waters just thinking of the variety of food served during Christmas! Fresh vegetables, crusty potatoes, succulent meats and sweet deserts are all aplenty on a Christmas dinner (or lunch) table. And of course, plenty of people to help clean off the plates too. 

The amazing food is just one of the many reasons Christmas is such a highly-awaited and merry holiday. Though I understand how the food can be oh-so-tempting, don't forget what Christmas is really about - sharing! It can be hard with food that's so scrumptious but it wouldn't help out waistline anyway to stuff ourselves. Seasons greetings and to all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!