Eggnog is one among many traditions

Because of the economic downturn we are facing this year, I am hoping that Christmas will prove to be a more traditional affair than one with the focus on commercialism that we have been experiencing. Hopefully, family and the more precious things of life will have a greater meaning this year.
Because of the rich cultural mix in this country, Christmas celebrations are of an endless variety.
Many families, even though several generations removed from the arrival of their ancestors in America, continue to observe their holiday roots and traditions. Allan and I have frequently been honored to be invited as guests to join in such celebrations.
Every town has decorated Christmas trees and displays of lights that can reflect these ethnic traditions. Depending on which group settled in a particular community, there is likely to be at least one holiday practice that is unique.
Luminaries abound
For example, there are hundreds of “luminaries” that light up the Christmas skies in many Southwestern U.S. communities. These devices, made of small brown paper bags half-filled with sand and holding small candles inside, are set out as nighttime decorations in communities where Mexican-Americans and American Indians predominate. This custom is said to have evolved from the paper lanterns that Mexicans carry during the holiday season.
Christmas celebrations in North America got off to an early start when Christopher Columbus’ flagship, the Santa Maria, shipwrecked on the shores of Hispaniola on Christmas Eve 1492. Saved by the local Indians, he invited them to dine with him on Christmas Day. For good measure he named his first settlement La Navidad, meaning Christmas.
No celebration
In the next two centuries after the original English settlement of Jamestown in 1607, the areas settled by the Dutch, Swedes, Spanish and Anglicans of England, Christmas was celebrated as it had been in the Old World. However, the church elders forbade Puritan New Englanders to observe Christmas because the Bible made no specific reference to such an observance. The church also was concerned that all that celebrating and socializing might set a dangerous precedent.
However, many other religious groups, including the Baptists, Methodists and Quakers, also disapproved of the holiday. Only when the United States became an independent nation and religious issues were separated from political ones did Christmas become the national holiday it is today.
People of German origin brought the custom of Christmas trees to America as early as the 18th century. However, Christmas trees did not come into
general use until the mid-19th century, when those of English heritage approved of them.
Joel Poinsett, amateur botanist and U.S. ambassador to Mexico, introduced poinsettias, plants native to Mexico, to the United States. Captivated by Mexico’s “flor de la noche,” which blooms every December with a brilliant display of traditional Christmas colors — green and red — Poinsett began growing cuttings in his gardens in South Carolina. Other gardeners soon followed suit.
As for Santa Claus, the American version came much later than those of some of the European settlers. The Dutch had their Sinterklaas with his white horse, and the Germans of Pennsylvania their Christ Kindl.
However, the Santa Claus who is alive and well today sprang from the imagination of a New York scholar, Clement Moore. Moore published a lengthy ballad,
“ ’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” in 1822. He created the mythology of a kindly man at the North Pole who toils all year making toys in preparation for one night’s visit to children the world over.
Santa’s sleigh, the eight reindeer and their curious names — these were all invented on the spot for the entertainment of Moore’s own offspring. Publication of his poem in a local newspaper set them on their way to immortality. To this day, parents still delight in reading the poem to their children on Christmas Eve and children put out cookies and other goodies for Santa.
Depending on the ethnic heritage and the region of the country, there are many traditional Christmas foods for Christmas dinner. Allan, who is of English ancestry, prefers roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and a steamed dark fruit pudding (similar to fruitcake) for dessert. My German heritage opts for roast goose but often settles for roast duck. My mother always made raw potato dumplings to go with the rich brown gravy. She also baked the traditional German Christmas stollen about 10 days ahead so that they could mellow.
It was traditional in Abingdon, where I grew up, to go visiting on the afternoon of Christmas Day. Many people had an open house with punch, cookies, fruitcakes and eggnog. I often thought there was a contest to see whose eggnog was the richest.
Even though we can buy non-alcoholic eggnog in the grocery, there is nothing like the rich homemade variety with a little kick to it. Never mind the calories — Christmas comes but once a year.
Happy holidays and Merry Christmas.
Holiday Eggnog
4 large eggs, separated
½ cup sugar
1 1/3 cups each heavy cream, milk and brandy
1/3 cup rum
Freshly grated nutmeg
Two hours before serving, whisk the egg yolks and 6 tablespoons of sugar in a 2-quart bowl. Beat in the cream, milk, brandy and rum. Chill for 2 hours. Beat the egg whites with remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar until stiff peaks form. Very gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Ladle into cups and sprinkle each with freshly grated nutmeg. Makes about 12 half-cup servings.