What are some of your early sensory memories of Christmas around you? What smells, sights, tastes, textures and sounds do you remember from your parents or grandparents, aunts, uncles and other family and friends getting ready for Christmas when you were a child?
Tastes and smells of Christmas-
ReplyDeleteI am trying to remember what my favorite parts of Christmas are. The first is a kind of cookie made by Danes. It is a little log cookie with nuts and sugar on them. I used to sneak them off the tray as often as I could. There were other tasty things, but that was number one. These days it is any type of Sees candy.
Another memory is a thing. My mother had a very strange clip on tree ornament. It was a red mushroom about 3” tall. We also very carefully and neatly tinseled the tree each year. It was a lot of work, but it looked very nice. The tree took a central spot in the picture window in the living room
- Doug Millar
The Smells and Tastes of Advent
ReplyDeleteFlour, sugar, spices, butter, eggs, and nuts
mixed together in at least a million ways;
makes no difference if the batter is
fried, baked or dipped
The aromas of the resulting cookies, breads,
and candies broadcast the impending event
with sensuous presentations that evoke our memories,
as well as our salivations.
Although I can make them anytime,
mostly I don’t because they belong
to this season and don’t taste quite the same
in other months.
We each have our own selections,
some recipes handed down through generations
of our indivual cultures, adoptions from friends’ colletions
and maybe some new ones to try out each year.
Some for the family, some to take to celebrations,
some for the people we want to express thanks to.
And some, of course, for Santa.
Almond, peppermint, ginger, chocolate, lemon, pumpkin;
too many flavors and varieties to list here.
The tins that arrived from my mother contained
Icebox cookies, Spritz, Russian teacakes,
Hand-dipped Chocolates, Divinity,Turtles,
Pecan-caramel- divinity logs, Fudge.
I tried for many years to keep the tradition,
although I changed the varieties more
as health issues have necessitated having less
around to try to resist,
I can’t give it up entirely.
It’s imbedded in my blood and genes,
and there are the children who, despite
their messiness and short attention spans,
need to receive the experience.
Thanks for the words of wisdom, I'm in that wake behind you
ReplyDelete