Holiday Food and Fun Discussion

[LADYDRAGONSKEEPER]

I was on a guessing game on Halloween treats and picked egg-nog. I was informed this was Christmas. This didn't seem correct as where I'm at this long awaited treat comes out in late September with ghouls and ghost on the package when Halloween candy and costumes hit the shelf. (it does stick around til early January but that still makes it a holiday treat, not Christmas). When I discus it with someone they said we also brought how Hay rides earlier than most people and those too were Christmas traditions in a lot of places. This one really surprised me because I thought hay rides were a harvest festival thing started during haying times.

This made me curious and I tried to look up histories on these holiday perks. I found things backing hay rides as more fall than winter traditions. Nog was harder as the information was all about the Alchohol versions.

This got me wondering about other traditions people might have. So I want to invite People to share what they do during holidays. What you look forward to, share if you know the history. Just share stories (especially if it's something your family came up with. Those are always heartwarming).

Edited November 6, 2013 by LADYDRAGONSKEEPER

[BatPopsicle]

I currently I live in Florida but most of my life I have lived in the Northeast (US). Eggnog usually comes out in the stores when the weather starts to get cold in Autumn but it is traditionally a Christmas time drink. I don't drink it so I may be wrong. I usually drink apple cider or hot cocoa/chocolate. On Christmas we usually have a nice roast beef or turkey with side items and a put out holiday goodies we have baked.

[SoiledLove]

I have never tried eggnog, nor do I know what it is. Huh.

 

I have had Christmas Turkey though and Halloween Candy. Trick and Treating is fun, but I've only done it properly once. Do Americans have Turkey on Christmas or only on Thanksgiving? Do they even have it on Thanksgiving?

[LADYDRAGONSKEEPER]

I have never tried eggnog, nor do I know what it is. Huh.

 

I have had Christmas Turkey though and Halloween Candy. Trick and Treating is fun, but I've only done it properly once. Do Americans have Turkey on Christmas or only on Thanksgiving? Do they even have it on Thanksgiving? ]

 

 

Egg-nog is a drink made with milk or cream and raw (pasteurized in store brands) eggs. It's full of sugar and spices like nutmeg. The 'traditional' kind' is alcoholic as it has brandy, rum, whiskey, ect. The kind I referred to though is the non alcoholic that hit stores next to the milk for a limited time each year. It has rum flavoring but is good for all ages.

 

 

I'm in America and even though I heard goose is the traditional Christmas meal I don't know anyone personally who has done it in my lifetime. (Older family members talk about it back when they or people they knew raised geese themselves). Where I'm at the goose is not in stores. I heard it's different elsewhere.

 

Ham and turkey are the big Christmas dinner sellers. My family always did turkey and stuffing with a ham as well during big get gatherings. Sides were sweet potatoes casserole, deviled eggs and homemade yeast rolls. Then either green beans simmered with spices and bacon or green bean casserole. And mashed potatoes or potato salad.

Dessert is lime jello salad, pumpkin, cherry, and apple pies.

 

 

Giblet gravy is also a tradition in my house, even though if we go with a fully cooked bird we have to buy the giblets. Some find it gross though my family loves it.

Edited November 7, 2013 by LADYDRAGONSKEEPER

[catstaff]

I'm in America and even though I heard goose is the traditional Christmas meal I don't know anyone personally who has done it in my lifetime.  (Older family members talk about it back when they or people they knew raised geese themselves).  Where I'm at the goose is not in stores.  I heard it's different elsewhere. 

 

Ham and turkey are the big Christmas dinner sellers.  My family always did turkey and stuffing with a ham as well during big get gatherings.  Sides were sweet potatoes casserole, deviled eggs and homemade yeast rolls.  Then either green beans simmered with spices and bacon or green bean casserole.  And mashed potatoes or potato salad.

Dessert is lime jello salad, pumpkin, cherry, and apple pies.

 

 

Giblet gravy is also a tradition in my house, even though if we go with a fully cooked bird we have to buy the giblets.  Some find it gross though my family loves it.

I've seen goose in the stores near the Christmas season, and I can understand why turkey and ham overtook it as the main course... $20-$50 for a turkey depending on the size of the bird and how good the sale prices are, compared with $60-$80+ for a goose. Which is a shame, IMO, because I don't care much for turkey unless it's been fried. Oven bags help keep it from drying out to the point of being gross, but I still think the white meat in particular is about as tasty as cardboard.

 

Anyway, my family always does a big Christmas Eve dinner, but following old Italian Catholic traditions, it's a meatless meal. (As I understood it from my full-Italian grandmother, it was the Feast of Seven Fishes in the part of Italy her folks came from, but I don't remember the details, as it's been something over 30 years since she told me about it.) My family's dinner starts with shrimp cocktail; antipasto containing tuna, calamari, sardines, and anchovies instead of ham and salami; homemade manicotti; and crab-stuffed lobster. Admittedly, I don't ever recall anyone actually eating the anchovies, but they were there. (I have no clue if what my family eats is anything close to the actual Italian tradition, but it's nummy all the same!)

 

Christmas Day traditions evolved some over the years, as both my parents are from large families, and nearly everyone lives within a half-hour drive of everyone else. (I'm the wanderer of the bunch... in recent years, my family had to drive 3-4 hours and stay over at my folks' place, while we won't be making it at all this year as a job opportunity took us well out of feasible driving distance.) But in current years, one of my cousins on my dad's side holds a kind of open house brunch-type gathering with lots of little nibbly-type finger foods at his place from around 11 am until maybe 1-2 pm, and from there, my family proceeds to an aunt's place on my mom's side, where there's a choice of lasagna and some sort of roast beast along with appropriate sides for dinner. That's also the side of the family that does a grab bag/Yankee swap each year, complete with the typical hilarity when small children draw noisy items... my kid got a harmonica when she was about 4... and of course, when people recognize a couple of the items from previous years. I think the record for an item reappearing in the grab bag is seven years in a row for one of the definite gag gifts, a neon rainbow clown wig.

Edited November 7, 2013 by catstaff

[dustpuppy]

For christmas, the traditional dish here is "something special and complicated that will make you freak out because you never cooked it before and it takes longer than expected and you're running out of time".

 

As treats during the advent season I remember getting nuts and oranges which seems like a sensible tradition from a time when people couldn't afford a varied diet in winter and needed the extra vitamin C and fat.

 

Geese I associate more with St. Martin's day, a teacher at our school handed out goose-shaped gingerbread on that day. I doubt that is a tradition, but hey who cares, free cookies!

 

And on the thursday before easter you have to eat green sauce and potatoes. The official reason is that the day is called "green thursday" over here, but my guess is that it's just a neat way of using any eggs you boiled for easter but can't give away as gifts because they got cracked or don't look nice but are still good to eat.

 

 

[babybluefire]

In the northeast US hay rides are both a halloween and Christmas thing, with carriage rides with hot coco being a little more Christmas time.

 

 

Eggnog is out in stores at halloween, but more traditionally a Christmas thing. Not that my family cares, some of them make it all year long.

 

 

Thanksgiving is turkey and a wee ham usually. Christmas can be turkey, ham, boat loads of Italian food. In my family we have Italian Christmas, meat based though. Because of going to my inlaws for dry terrible turkey for thanksgiving and Christmas this makes my german/irish husband want nothing but Italian food with my family for our celebrations. Goose was more common years ago, but they are quite expensive if you don't raise it yourself. Plus a goose needs to be cooked a little different from a turkey or else it turns into a dry rock hard rubber thing.

 

 

 

This year my husband and I are going to cook dinner for his employees for thanksgiving and Christmas. Not sure of the menu yet. I was thinking of roasting a small turkey, shredding the meat, making homemade gravy and putting it all in a crockpot.

Edited November 7, 2013 by babybluefire

[Techno_Elf]

I've had eggnog once. I can't remember what it tasted like, though. I think it was cold...?

Me and my mom wanted a turkey this year, but we couldn't finish it, so no turkey for Thanksgiving.

Also, I've never had candy corn before. I had it on Halloween and didn't like it. *shrugs*

[georgexu94]

Let's see now. Since it is nearing Xmas, bibingka!

[Darkwolf001]

Bibingka!!! My family always serves lechòn and lumpia on the holidays. And either a pot of sinigang or arroz caldo.

[georgexu94]

Yey for the bibingka, lumpia, puto, sinigang. I just don't like lechon. Actually, I don't like meat especially pork. Even with the Noche Buena, I still don't get fat.

[azila]

For Thanksgiving, we usually have a big dinner at my mom's friend's house. (We might be doing it at our house this year, though.) We usually mill around and watch sports afterwards. Where I come from, we get extra days for deer season too, so a couple of my dad's friends go hunting at this time. And we might be taking a mini-vacation to somewhere this year, so.

 

Christmas involves picking a person to choose the tree for that year, helping to decorate, singing carols at our neighborhood's Christmas display (a street full of them that you can drive down and get goodies), a big gift exchange/banquet at 4-H, and helping to make cookies. My absolute favorites are those peanut-butter ones with the Hershey Kiss in the middle, whatever those are called. After opening our presents, we usually have a big dinner and stuff, or experiment with our electronic gifts. We go to Christmas mass too, and all in all it's a very fun day for my family.

 

Eggnog sounds delicious, but I have yet to try it at all. Personally, I prefer hot chocolate, but eh.

[DustyBelle]

I love both hot chocolate/ cocoa and egg nog with or without alcohol.

 

The cookies I believe you are talking about are called peanut blossoms. They are delicious, especially when still a bit warm.

 

I saw a goose in the store yesterday, the prices were a smidge higher than generic turkeys but the smaller birds were about sixteen dollars. None of the geese wre more than twenty. I hate duck, so wasn't about to try goose. Turkey can be mooist. It is the cook's fault or whoever won't allow it to be basted or cooked upside down for the proper amount of time at a correct heat with covering. Turkey shouldn't be dry.

 

For those who think a turkey is too much for one or two people try a turkey breast. Just be careful to follow directions carefully and baste the blasted thing so it isn't dry or use an oven bag. Do not cook it overnight on low. Baad idea.

 

I love to sip weLCH'S SPARKLING RED GRAPE JUICE, EAT appetizer's and cookies and celery stuffed with cream cheese or dip. We used to eat dinner in the evening so we snacked from noon or so until the kitchen closed for the last few hours before the dinner was served. Breakfast was an eat together family meal and the turkey was started afterwards.

 

I spent a couple of Christmas/ New Years with my husband's best friend and his family. Italian and all but the friend are great cooks and earn their living cooking. Holiday meal is Lasagna, Roast garlic stuffed lamb, moist turkey with stuffing preceeded by hours of hor doerves and a wonderful Italian cream some type of vegetable soup. There were many different sides and tons of different desserts. It beat hubby's aunt's Thanksgiving dinner, but I believe the two families are from different parts of Italy. We aren't Italian. Nice melting pot mix for both of us from Europe.

 

Family and friends and sharing the love, and company is what it is all about, even on years when the new cook to the family insists on holding the meal and it doesn't quite work out. Support with love not criticism. Plenty of hor doerves, sides and desserts at holiday meals.

[georgexu94]

Let's see now. I should be digging into the food in Noche Buena. I wonder if anyone knows about queso de bola (cheese ball). I never had it. It is expensive and a lot of people buy it. Some rumours say that it is not really very delicious though.

[Riverwillows]

I have had goose. I didn't like it. It was very greasy and tasted different than other birds I have eaten, i.e. chicken, turkey, duck, pheasant, etc.

 

And Egg Nog is traditionally a rum drink, although others have modified it with other liquors. I like it very much, although I drink the non-alcoholic rum-flavored kind.

 

My family always did the same things: Thanksgiving was Turkey and all the trimmings, Christmas was ham, scalloped potatoes and peas. New Years was pizza. St Patrick's Day was corned beef and cabbage (we're Irish.) Easter was lamb and red potatos. Independence Day was ribs and cob corn. And halloween was fast food hamburgers and lots of goodies.

 

I've followed that to this day with my kid, and now he does it too!!! lol.

Edited November 24, 2013 by Riverwillows

[Hinarkrix]

Eggnog is delicious!

[sparkle10184]

For Thanksgiving dinner my family has Tofurky, the vegetarian version of turkey. We also eat cranberry sauce that my mom makes, mashed potatoes, and apple pie with vanilla ice cream. It's all good stuff and we have a great time

Christmas we also have tofurky. And we have egg nog and cookies!

On New Year's eve we set out a ton of snacks like cheese and crackers, fresh fruit, and nuts. We eat buffet-style where we get our plates then can go up and choose snacks. It's really fun!!

[Riverwillows]

So Sparkle, I take it you are vegetarian, but not vegan? Just curious!!

[sparkle10184]

So Sparkle, I take it you are vegetarian, but not vegan? Just curious!!

I am a vegetarian and so is my dad, but my mom and sister are vegans

[Riverwillows]

Do you eat eggs? Because I always thought that vegans not eating eggs was kinda silly, because eggs aren't fertilized usually, not the kind in the markets. So it's not eating any 'animal' really, just pure protein. Just curious, not meaning any insult or anything.

 

And hens will lay eggs without being fertilized anyway, in the wild and tamed.

 

Edited November 25, 2013 by Riverwillows

[Nine]

And hens will lay eggs without being fertilized anyway, in the wild and tamed.

If by 'wild' you mean the living species of jungle fowl, they don't lay unfertilized eggs in any noticeable amount. About 12 per year.

[Riverwillows]

If by 'wild' you mean the living species of jungle fowl, they don't lay unfertilized eggs in any noticeable amount. About 12 per year.

Um...Okayyy.....my point was, they do.

[Nine]

idk I thought it was 'share random fact' moment. Just contributing.

[Jennie]

I love eggnog. When I was young, Mom used to make it all the time, not just at Christmas, but now it's become more of a holiday drink. The commercial varieties show up on the shelves at Thanksgiving, which we in Canada celebrate in October because it's a harvest festival having nothing to do with pilgrims or whatever.

 

We have turkey at Thanksgiving and again at Christmas, with yams and stuffing and other vegetables. Roast beef at New Years, with mashed potatoes.

 

Christmas dinner is more elaborate than Thanksgiving dinner, and we have Christmas pudding and mince pie, instead of pumpkin pie which we have at Thanksgiving. We also have wine at Christmas.

 

[sparkle10184]

Do you eat eggs? Because I always thought that vegans not eating eggs was kinda silly, because eggs aren't fertilized usually, not the kind in the markets. So it's not eating any 'animal' really, just pure protein. Just curious, not meaning any insult or anything.

 

And hens will lay eggs without being fertilized anyway, in the wild and tamed.

There are many reasons people are vegan. Some times for health reasons, sometimes for ethics. In the case of my mom and sis it is for ethical reasons. If you buy eggs from a store generally the chickens that they came from were horribly abused and beaten. They are stuffed in cages with no room to move. And then, after they can't lay eggs anymore, they are killed! If you'd like to learn more, PM me c: My inbox is always open!