The American Christmas was born from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol — decorated trees, presents, and a memorable feasts.  More than these, Christmas became a day shared with family and friends.  The best way to watch Christmas develop during the 19th century is through media, beginning with a nursery rhyme.

Christmas is coming

The goose is getting fat

Please put a penny in the old man’s hat

If you haven’t got a penny,

Then a half penny will do

If you haven’t got a half penny,

Then God bless you

Go to YouTube for a fun rendition by Manhattan Transfer– you can sing along.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez2HBK6HKmI

Christmas is a time for joy, but also for remembering that not every has a “penny” to spare.  Now, on to our holiday.

This is the first American picture of Santa Claus, drawn by Thomas Nast for publication in the January 3, 1863 edition of Harper’s.

The title: A Christmas Furlough.  Santa sitting on his sled with only two reindeer is passing out gifts to Union soldiers, and the boys at the front who seem to have a jack-in-the-box.  Santa is patriotic and wearing a modified flag — striped trousers and stars on his jacket.

The next picture is called  Christmas Time Here Comes the Gobbler painted by Sophie Gengembre Anderson.  What a lovely room — what a magical turkey.  He is too polite to splash a single drop of blood on that ornate carpet.

A kid’s view of an excellent Christmas — Big brother supplies the bird. Little sisters watch in awe, and baby has a pull toy.  The cynic in me wonders how long it will take to dress and cook the bird.  Will it be ready in time for dinner?

What would Christmas be without holiday songs?  This cover on the sheet music for Charles Kinkel’s Santa Claus Galop is rich in meaningful holiday cheer.  Note Santa coming down the chimney on the right hand side.  It’s been ten years since he gave out gifts to the troops.  Fortunately he has not gained any weight, ‘cuz that chimney looks a little narrow.

 Wikipedia Commons, Public Domain

Note the French phrase Cadeaux de Noel — this is classy stuff.  It translates to “Christmas Gift.”  The young girl has several, including the lovely doll she holds.  A “galop” by the way was a lively dance popular at the time.

Our last picture, a photograph by Griffith & Griffith in 1897 depicts a Christmas scene many American grew up with — aside from the clothes and interior design.  But the tree looks familiar — a bit higgily-piggily, decorated with love.  Doting parents — no doubt wondering how long they have to hold the pose.  Grandpa has it easier, enjoying his chair and looking away from the camera.  The kids have a flash-frozen look, but it’s a happy scene.

Wikipedia Commons, Public Domain

And there are toys, toys, toys — a child size chair, a doll size chair, a baby buggy, a rolling horse for the young man of the house.  Middle class Americans had a good life in 1897.  This is the picture of family life that inspired Americans, regardless of their economic condition.  It depicts the abundance of Christmas that we still want today.

Every American wants to have enough to support his or her family.  We want our children to have what they desire.  We want our families to be together.  This may not be the way things are, but it is what most Americans have as their Christmas wish.

I hope that your Christmas wishes come true and that you continue to dream of a future in which families everywhere can live in peace.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The post CHRISTMAS IS COMING — THE GOOSE IS GETTING FAT first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

I sat enjoying the evening breeze, when the Handsome Bloke said, “I fancy Christmas Pudding this year.” Was he joking? No, he wore a meaningful look. “Oh,” said I.
“I don’t suppose our grocery store has any in for the holidays?”
“I’ll ask.”

Wait a minute!  What about the picture?  What is the picture about?  Oh, that.  James Killray produced the cartoon in 1805 when the Napoleonic Wars were raging.  England in red and France in blue are carving up Europe…errr, the pudding.

Ahem!  As I was starting to say, Christmas Pudding is an English dessert served after Christmas dinner. [Sidebar: The English don’t have “dessert;” they have “pudding.” Not Jello pudding or tapioca pudding. A cake could serve as a pudding. “Eat your pudding. There’s a good child.”]

The Handsome Bloke hales from Yorkshire, where the Christmas holiday meal includes roasted turkey and pudding. An elf often sends us a Marks & Spencer’s Christmas Plum Pudding, but it’s been a busy year for elves. No time to shop.

Traditional English Christmas Plum Pudding – what is that, exactly? One story says the pudding originated with a medieval custom.  An anonymous pundit declared, “A pudding must be made on the 25th Sunday after Trinity Sunday; said pudding must have 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and the 12 Apostles.”  That’s one way to remember how many disciples there were.

In the 14th century, Christmas pudding was porridge made of beef, mutton, raisins, currants, prunes, wines, and spices. Not too appealing. In the 17th century, enterprising cooks added eggs, breadcrumbs, dried fruit, and either beer or whiskey.

The Puritans disapproved – they banned the pudding and Christmas.

Three cheers for King George I, also known as the Pudding King.  He  liked Christmas, and a feast with Christmas pudding.  He rather liked feasting in general, judging by some of his portraits.

While the Victorians were inventing our current holiday habits — trees, presents, and all manner of general merriment — they reinvented the Christmas pudding by putting a sprig of holly on top, dousing it with brandy and setting it alight.  Ooo’s and ahh’s all around.

In his famous Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens described how Christmas pudding was served in the humble Cratchit household: “Hallo! A great deal of steam! The pudding was out of the copper which smells of washing-day. That was the cloth. A smell like at eating-house and a pastrycook’s next door to each other, with a laundress’s next door to that. That was the pudding . . . like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quarter of ignited brandy and bedlight with Christmas holly stuck into the top.”

Yummy – I definitely want some of that.

I digress. The Handsome Bloke’s request was entirely reasonable. I exercised due diligence, and visited our three grocery stores (small town). None were bringing in Christmas puddings. Upon receiving my report, the Handsome Bloke went online, found a source, and ordered the pudding. Tradition meets the digital age.

No plums have been killed in the writing of this blog.

If you want to make your own Christmas Plumb Pudding, there is a charming traditional recipe at recipewise http://recipewise.co.uk/christmas-pudding-traditional-recipe If you want to order one, you might peruse selections at The British Food Shop http://www.britishfoodshop.com/christmas-pudding.asp?gclid=CK29kt6HjLQCFQ_hQgodiz0ARw

More info on Christmas puddings can be found at http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/pudding.shtml

The post On Christmas Pudding first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.