Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

One of my favourite Christmas foods is mince pies. I am not sure I would have enjoyed as much the FIRST Christmas mince pies, filled with spiced meat and suet. The origin of the mince pie dates back to 13th century when Crusaders brought back to England Middle Eastern spices and methods of cooking meat with various fruit and spices. The early mince pie was known by several names, including "mutton pie", "shrid pie" and "Christmas pie". Typically its ingredients were a mixture of minced meat, suet, a range of fruits, and spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Served around Christmas, the savoury Christmas pie (as it became known) was associated with supposed Catholic "idolatry" and during the English Civil War was frowned on by the Puritan authorities. Nevertheless, the tradition of eating Christmas pie in December continued through to the Victorian era, although by then its recipe had become sweeter and its size markedly reduced from...

This year, I fell into the sentimental trap of making some penguin softies for Christmas .... and I am not the only one - penguins seem to be everywhere at the moment dressed in Christmassy costumes, with trees, bells, and all kinds of Christmas paraphernalia.   Should penguins really  be associated with Christmas?   Probably not  and not as Santa's helpers as they often depicted. Penguins inhabit the Antarctic region in the South Pole, while Santa Claus it has been established has his home in the North Pole. The theory is that somehow penguins are associated with snow, then Winter, then Christmas, but what about us in the southern hemisphere. Perhaps they are just cute?  Whatever the reason, when were penguins first seen as part of the Christmas scene ?  While there is no verifiable answer, it would seem that Monty the Penguin in the John Lewis Christmas advertisement in 2014  popularised  the trend. (If you are not famil...

Christmas Countdown ...3... Christmas Tree :   The symbolic meaning of Christmas trees actually originates in pagan culture where the evergreen represents life and renewal.  In Scandinavia, decorating evergreens was a practice associated with the Winter Solstice and often brought into homes, as symbols of protection against evil spirits. In many sources, Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer,  has been credited with the first decorated Christmas tree – with candles.  Although this could just be a story, German Christians are known to have decorated evergreens in their home as early as the mid-16 th century.  It wasn’t until the nineteenth century in other countries that Christmas trees became the bright " giving"  symbol of Christmas as we know it. The first Christmas tree in England was set up in Windsor Castle by Prince Albert of Saxony, Queen Victoria’s husband in 1841. Franklin Pierce was the first US president to introduce a Christmas ...

Christmas Countdown ... 6... Crackers  Christmas crackers or bons bons are traditionally English. In the 1840’s in London, Tom Smith, disappointed that his sweets based on the French sweet almonds wrapped in pretty paper were not selling very well, included a “snap” to make a sound when they were opened. Crackers were originally called ‘cosaques’ and were thought to be named after Cossacks whose reputation for riding horses and firing pistols in the air wildly.  Some of the early crackers had love poems inside them, but when Tom died, and his sons took over the business, poetry was replaced by jokes, a paper crown was added and little toys or charms were included as special gifts inside the crackers. There were even “themed” crackers, with special tokens added for bachelors, spinsters and even Suffragettes!  In our family, there is a tradition of making handmade crackers. This year, one of our grandsons has provided the jokes! 

Kung Hei Fat Choy - Cantonese for Happy New Year. Welcome the Year of the Dragon . A very auspicious year  it would seem … from the International Business Times … The Year of the Dragon is one of the most revered years of the Chinese New Year calendar, and those born under the sign are regarded as innovative, passionate people who are colourful, confident and fearless…. the Dragon is sometimes called a "karmic sign." The Dragon is larger than life and its appearance means that big things are to come. The Year of the Dragon is a flowing river, not a stagnant lake, so things happen quickly earlier in the year. The Dragon marks progression, perseverance and auspiciousness. It may also bring about unpredictable events. To celebrate the new year we spent a couple of days in Sydney with our  family for the launch of the Chinese New Year Festival. We are sorry we will not be able to enjoy the legendary parade next weekend, but it clashes with the beginning of the schoo...