Tradition around the world are similar, I love doing the research in to the different traditions.. I love Christmas .. Here are some traditions that Newfies do… Christmas time is for toasting and feasting with friends A lot of these food and drink traditions In Newfoundland and Labrador, arrives from England, Ireland and Mediterranean Europe, with the first immigrants. These Immigrants came to fish for Cod. This is when seasonal, traditional drinks and foods came to be.. Because of the tough winters ingredients such as preserved ingredients like salted meat and fish , jams and preserves, they had cellars with turfed roofs, where they kept these foods ..

Newfoundland and Labrador—an area of Canada that has its very own collection of unique Christmas traditions. Here are some of the most interesting.

Salted Cod on Christmas Eve
In 1497, when Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) reached Canada’s Grand Banks, he reported back that the cod was “so thick you could walk across their backs.” Newfie’s today partake in the tradition of eating salted cod on Christmas Eve. In Newfoundland, it’s often prepared in a dish called Fish and Brewis, which consists of salt cod, hard tack bread, mashed potatoes, onions and savoury, topped with fried onions and fat pork, known locally as scrunchions. I so want to try this

Tibb’s Eve Dec 23rd

Also known as Tibb’s Eve this is the unofficial start to the Christmas season. Originating on the South Shore of Newfoundland and now recognized in other parts of the province, Tibb’s Eve happens on the night of December 23, and is widely interpreted to be the time when one can start indulging in Christmas cheer of the alcoholic variety. The name is thought to originate not from the slurring of the word “tipsy,” but from an old slang word for a loose-moraled woman, and celebrating the feast of “St. Tibb” was an excuse to drink before the season of Advent was officially over on Christmas Day.!!!

Christmas Day Feast

Roast Turkey, Salted Beef and all the Trimmings
Fogo Islanders love the Christmas classic roast turkey, on the Big Day. But most would if it wasn’t served with its trusty sidekick salted beef, or as the British would say, corned beef. Typical sides that come with this meaty duo are figgy duff (a rich molasses and raisin steamed pudding), and boiled potatoes, turnips, carrots and cabbage. I guess this is a Jiggs Dinner..

Old Christmas Day!

January 6th is known as Old Christmas Day!! and the Feast of the Epiphany and is the end of the Christmas Season.. Origins believed to have begun in England’s adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752, Hence the 12 days from the old calendar and resulted in Christmas being celebrated December 25, rather than January 6. In some parts of Newfoundland, the Christmas season actually ends 12 days after Old Christmas Day, which makes for a season with a lot of mummering. Quite the party..

Doing the Wren

A variation on the mummering tradition, visitors—often young boys—in some parts of Newfoundland visit from house to house carrying a small effigy of a wren dangling from a stick, reciting verses extolling the wren as The King of Birds for each house they visit. This is based on an Irish and English tradition called wrenning, where a wren was ceremonially stoned to death on December 26, marking the martyrdom of St. Stephen, after which boys would wander from house to house asking for money to give the bird a good burial.

 Crank the tunes. 

Make Sure you have lots of traditional Newfoundland music on hand.  fiddlin’ Music and songs or just a tried-and-true Great Big Sea album. The party continues..

 Leave cookies and Purity Syrup for Santa Claus. A little known fact: Santa Claus prefers Purity Syrup to milk with his cookies on Christmas Eve. A rich, unbelievably sweet raspberry or strawberry drink, Purity Syrup is a classic addition to any holiday festivity—but be sure to water it down first. If you must leave cookies, too, make them molasses: the syrup complements the molasses perfectly. I’m loving this,.. Family and friends My kinda Christmas..

Throw a flaming log over your roof. This is a twist on the tradition of burning a Yule log for the 12 days of Christmas. Instead, Newfoundlanders would throw a burning log over the roof with the belief that it would protect their homes from fire in the coming year. Nobody seems to do this anymore, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Still popular these days, and much more delicious, is the Yule log cake. My Mom used to do a Yule Log Cake with Chocolate Icing yummy

Go mummering. The bizarre but ridiculously fun tradition of mummering has people dressing up in outrageous outfits to mask their identities, then going from house to house to stomp out a jig to some accordion music, sometimes bing invited in to the house.

Nalujuit Night

Nalujuit Night is celebrated in northern Labrador, Epiphany Night January 6th orals known Old Christmas Day On this night teenagers and adults dress up in costumes and creepy masks and, waving a stick or other weapon, chase young children through the streets—all having fun. Once again Family and friends Im loving this.. This tradition says that if a child was caught by a Nalujuk, he or she had to sing a song in Inuktitut. If they sang the right song, they were rewarded with candy or a treat. Kinda Like trick or treating.. This year due to Covid we will all have a different Christmas.. Lets do this get this Virus under wraps and continue with our traditions, making new ones!!

Here are a few Newfie Christmas treats these were on thenewfoundlandkitchen I have to try some of these..

MOLASSES DROP COOKIES

What you will need:

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup fancy molasses

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup  hot coffee, or substitute hot milk, if you prefer

Preheat oven to 375. Grease cookie sheets.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Stir baking soda into hot coffee (or milk). Add to other ingredients and mix dough until well blended.

Drop cookie dough by the tablespoon onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

ORANGE CRANBERRY BREAD

What you will need:

2 cups sifted flour

1 cup sugar

1.5 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

Zest of one medium orange

3/4 cup orange juice

1 cup walnuts or almonds

2 cups cranberries

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare two loaf pans.

In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda together. In medium bowl, mix melted butter, beaten egg, orange juice and orange zest together.  Gradually add liquid ingredients to dry, making sure to incorporate all ingredients well. Add nuts and cranberries, mix through evenly. Some Newfoundland Christmas Pics not mine found on line

I remember a couple of days before Christmas every year my mom would make Rum Butter !! No one really know how or who invented this tase delicacy!! Rum Butter are shrouded in mystery. Rum Butter first appeared in local larders in the late 18th century. Brought into the ports of Whitehaven, Workington and Maryport by merchant ships from the West Indies, rum quickly became an integral ingredient of the West Cumbrian diet. YUMMY!!

Some info I found while researching this amazing Christmas fare

There are some Romantic legends about how Rum Butter came about abound: one tale describes how a drunken sailor, staggering on board ship, crashed into a barrel of rum which leaked into a butter churn, flavouring its golden contents.

Another story is even more incredible! One misty morning pirates unloaded an illicit horde of rum, butter and sugar onto the West Cumbrian shore. When spotted by customs officers they fled into a cave – later cut off by the tide – and survived on a sweet paste of rum, butter and sugar. Rum Butter is delicious with Mince Pies, Crumpets, Scones and delish for Breakfast on toast!! grasmeregingerbread.co.uk

Traditions

Another tale relates how a Cumbrian farmer’s wife’s keg of smuggled rum leaked onto precious larder stores of butter and sugar.

Fanciful or not, the stories – and Rum Butter itself – grew in popularity and the creamy concoction gradually became a mainstay of the humblest stone pantry.

Rum Butter’s irresistible taste – heightened when sweetened with dark Muscovado sugar and nutmeg – quickly crossed the great English class divide and into the fashionable country houses of the Lake District.

By the time Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1837 Rum Butter (also known as hard sauce) was integral to every christening feast and a bowl of Rum Butter was passed around the visitors.

The new mother received a portion to hasten her recovery and it was even given to the baby to bestow good characteristics: butter for goodness, rum for spirit, sugar for sweetness and nutmeg for spice! Its head was also washed with rum – hence the saying “wetting the baby’s head”. This brings back many Christmas Memories! Pic is not mine but, when I make some I am def putting pics up!!

Recipe

• 8 ounces   butter
• 6 ounces soft dark brown sugar
• 8 -10 tablespoons  dark rum
• grated nutmeg or  mixed spice

• Put the butter in a warmed bowl and cream it, either with a wooden spoon or an electric beater or handheld mixer.
• Tip in the sugar and rum and mix everything together.
• Grate in nutmeg to taste, (or mixed spice) and mix again.
• Place in a bowl, an earthenware bowl is traditional, then chill until required.
• Serve with mince pies, Christmas pudding, sweet tarts and pies, sweet biscuits, oatcakes, scones, crumpets, muffins or on toast!!!

Another tradition my mom had was making Gingerbread, I remember how sticky it was , served with butter yummy

8oz	butter or Marg
8oz	light brown sugar
8oz	golden syrup, Lyons brand
8oz	black treacle
8oz	self-raising flour
8oz	wholemeal self-raising flour
4 tsp	ground ginger
2	eggs
10fl oz	milk

12 x 9 x 1½in Baking tin

Instructions

Cut a rectangle of non-stick baking parchment to fit the base and sides of the tin. Lightly grease the tin and then line it with the paper, pushing it neatly into the corners. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Measure the margarine or butter, sugar, golden syrup and black treacle into a medium pan and heat gently until the mixture has melted evenly. Allow to cool slightly.

Put the flours and ground ginger into a large mixing bowl and stir together lightly. Beat the eggs into the milk. Pour the cooled margarine and syrup mixture into the flour with the egg and milk mixture and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, tilt gently to level the surface and bake for about 50 minutes, until well risen, golden and springy to the touch. Allow the gingerbread to cool a little in the tin, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Cut into 16 squares.

I have so many memories of amazing Christmases with family back in the UK, we weren’t well-off by any means, My Dad worked on a farm, my mom baby sat and cleaned houses!! I have memories of Mom and I walking up top Wetheral or Corby and thinking nothing of it it was a few miles.. The traditions, and memories, I have traditions I did with my kids, and grandkids on I started a few yrs ago is a Christmas Eve pressie from Granda and Gram to the grandkids, they open it Christmas Eve and in it is Pj’s, a movie or a book snack and maybe a craft to do!! Growing up I only had one Grandparent my Grandmother Ethel.. I seen how my mom was with her Grandkids, Loving, Kind, giving and funny!! I would have loved for her to be here and see My Grandkids! My mom was an orphan and didn’t have a lot growing up!! But Christmas was always plentiful, I grew up with 4 Older Siblings the next youngest was 10 rs Older than me! My older Brother and sisters looked after me, I remember one year My Brother bought me a Go Cart, LOL.. Oh how I miss you Ian Fyfe , then there was another year I got 2 baby Dolls one was a Premie I called Sue and another baby doll I called Carol Noel and I still have her along with the White teddy Bear I was given when I was born this is Snowy!! Traditions are so important and keeping them in your family! With your Kids and grandkids, if we don’t keep them they will be lost forever! Well guys, Be Safe out there and remember wear your Mask , wash your hands and social distance Love y’all

Where’s the tissues

Wazz you may say!! I hear Wazz I think of Jamie Oliver and a food processor!! When he puts something in the Food Processor , he gives it a Wazz!! David and I laugh every time we hear this.. For My Birthday This month David bought me a Food Processor, oh boy does it make chopping Veggies Wazz those veggies.. Makes soups so much easier.. Today I made a Chicken Veggie Soup added an ancient grain a wee bit of Pearl Barley, thank you Western Family !! Sunday we had a roast Chicken, I rubbed fresh ground Black Pepper, salt, dried sage and a little garlic oil.. In the cavity I placed a small apple ( Prick holes in the apple ) and 1 small orange ( Prick hole in the orange .. I Placed the chicken on a trivet of Onions and Carrots. Boy was the chicken moist and flavourful.. I placed the carcas in some water , Bay leafs and a little sage and boiled it .. I took the meat of the bones. Wazzed up some Veggies, added the gravy from the roast chicken and eft this to simmer Oh boy does this smell amazing!! Cooking from Scratch is amazing,

This time of year I think about my Mom and family back in the UK and Australia.. I think especially during this Covid 19 terrible times.. We are all a little stressed out.. Try and eat a healthy diet, cut down on the processed foods.. I try to do a little relaxation on a daily basis , stretching and deep breathing, lately I have been able to go in to the Hot tub, oh boy is this one of the most relaxing things to do.. George is my guard dog, he parades around the yard, sits outside of the Gazebo, goes in the house then repeat.. He is the best dog Love him to the moon and back..

Christmas is fast approaching, a different Christmas, a tight budget for def.. But what is most important we have our friends and family weather we see them in person, or face time them, call them make sure they are safe .. This 2 weeks we have been asked to stay home if you don’t have to go out .. I only take George out for a walk in one of the many trails . If I have to go to the store its there and back.. David and I decided to stay away from Asher , Kate and Aaron this next 2 weeks just enforcing to SOCIAL DISTANCING!! Always wearing a mask to go to the store and sanitising I daily wash all top with a bleach Mixture.. Saw this Pic on line i thought it very fitting LOL My Friends and family and friends I have not yet met please follow all the staying safe procedures..

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Fall is here and comfort food is on our minds, I am not really a baker but will once in a while make Cookies with the grand kids or make a Birthday Cake, I do love Christmas Baking but that is for another blog.. Ian my son is home for his 2 weeks off an I like to cook him good meals I have to admit this time there has been some Comfort Food recipes.. One being Yorkshire Pudding wraps I used my recipe for Yorkshire pudding as I have tried other recipes but they have flopped.. This should be made with a roast and the Sunday dinner veggies, once again I did it my way!!! I did it with Stewed Links with is a Sausage Stew a dish David introduced me to when we met.. Oh Boy it was amazing, I made a Horseradish Mayo Yummy, Onion and TOMATO GRAVE WITH HORSERADISH MASH

For My Birthday David Bought me a Food Processor , I am a huge Jamie Oliver fan and I wanted on because of him He gives the food a Wazz lol

I made an amazing Chicken veg Soup .. It was really delish !! We went over to see Katie and Asher and we took some soup and Croissant Sandwiches …. David fed Asher the room well for the most part the little man was saying Yummy and smacking his lips he Loved it.. I also made Halibut and Chips with a Home made Slaw, home made beer batter. Home fries and Slaw !! It was amazing Then there was a dish we made at KGH. Tuna Roll. Scone base ( Biscuit ) Tuna red peppers and a mushroom soup served with my Cheese Sauce with my secret ingredient. MMMMM. Another Recent comfort for is my home made Butter Chicken. Wowzers amazing .. Soul food I like to call it also cooked from the heart. Next Blog a Newfie Christmas !!

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Welsh Christmas customs

A little something Christmas Tradition info on www.bbc.co.uk/wales/Christmas I find these traditions fascinating

Mari Lwyd, calennig, plygain… there are several Welsh Christmas and New Year customs and traditions.

The welsh love to sing, they sing lots of beautiful Christmas Carols and hymns

In the dark hours on the morning of Christmas Day, before the cockerel crowed, men gathered in rural churches to sing. They sang mainly unaccompanied, three or four part harmony carols in a service that went on for three hours or so. That’s Plygain.

This is a tradition which still thrives in parts of mid Wales. Watch an archive clip of Plygain in the 1960s.

Got a sweet tooth? Why not re-live an old Welsh custom this Christmas? Taffy-making.

This is how families whiled away the dark hours of Christmas Eve’s night, leading up to the Plygain service. Toffee was boiled in pans on open fires and – this is a nice twist – dollops were dropped into icy cold water.

The taffy curled into all sorts of shapes – like letters. This was a way of divining the initials of the younger, unmarried family members’ future loves.

Mari Lwyd – the grey mare that brings good luck

Imagine hearing a knock on your door around Christmas and being challenged to a battle of rhyming insults by a man with a scary horse with a skull-head. That’s the Mari Lwyd – Grey Mare – a pre-Christian custom that’s still acted out in parts of Wales.

Watch a Welsh-language clip about Mari Lwyd.

Make a Mari Lwyd – with or without a horse’s skull

Making your own Mari Lwyd could be tricky, as you’ll need to get hold of a horse’s skull and jaw. However, it may be possible to improvise with polystyrene or cardboard instead.

Stick on false ears, plug big shiny glass marbles into the eye sockets and give the head a mane of ribbons. Stick the head on to a broom handle, hold on to it and wrap a white sheet – just long enough to reach the ground – around yourself so the head sticks out at the top.

Hold on to the broom handle and clack the Mari Llwyd’s jaw against the top of the skull as you go from door to door, visiting your friends this Christmas and New Year.

Wassail – before mulled wine and punch, there was this

This is a tradition that went hand-in-hand with Mari Lwyd and other Christmas get-togethers. Just as we drink mulled wine and punch at Christmas and New Year parties nowadays, a Welsh Christmas at the turn of the century involved drinking from the wassail bowl.

These bowls were often elaborate, ornate and many-handled. The bowl was filled with fruit, sugar, spices and topped up with warm beer. As it was passed around, the drinkers would make a wish for a successful year’s farming and a bumper crop at harvest time.

Although the wassail bowl has been a tradition in Wales for many years, its origins are not uniquely Welsh. According to reader Sasha Clarskson, “The word derives from the Anglo-Saxon “Waes Hael!” (‘wax hale’ in slightly more modern language). It means be or grow healthy, and started as a toast at yule in pagan times, becoming the name for the drink that was toasted and then, even later, singing at yule/Christmas hoping to be rewarded by that drink or by other favours.”

Calennig – trick or treat, Welsh style

Was trick or treat invented in Wales? Well, for centuries here in Wales, something very similar has been going on. Not at Hallowe’en, but on New Year’s Day. Ever heard of calennig?

From dawn until noon on New Year’s Day, all around Wales, groups of young boys would go from door to door, carrying three-legged totems, chanting rhymes, splashing people with water and asking for calennig – gifts of small change.

Make your own calennig – on Twelfth Night

Take three short sticks – as long as lollipop sticks – and stick them into the bottom of an apple, as if they were stool legs. Now pepper the apple all round, hedgehog-style, with cloves, almonds, corn ears, etc. Stick a sprig of holly and a candle in the top of the calennig. Come New Year’s Day, you’ll be ready to play your part in making sure this ancient Welsh tradition doesn’t die out.

Hunting the wren

On Twelfth Night in Wales, groups of men would go out Hunting the Wren. The tiny bird would be caged in a wooden box and carried from door to door. Householders would pay for the privilege of peeping at the poor wren in the box.

Here is a Welsh Christmas Stew it is called a Beef Cawl

This recipe was very popular at the end of the 19th century, and even though soups are often considered an easy meal, this one requires a long cooking time but you won’t regret it!

INGREDIENTS

-4 lbs of beef (can be substituted for turkey), this is what I will do instead of beef cubed

-1/2 lb bacon, chopped, you Can use turkey bacon

-2 oz butter

-5 litres of water

-1 turnip, chopped

-3 carrots, chopped

-1/2 leek, chopped

-1 head celery, chopped

-2 onions, chopped

1/4 tsp dried mace

METHOD

– Put all the meat and bacon in a stewpan already rubbed with the butter.

– Add half pint of water, the vegetables, herbs, salt, pepper, a blade of mace, and cover it. Let it cook until it’s covered by a thin layer..

– Add the rest of the water and cook it for 5 hours.

here is a Cawl using Goose Hmm I think I may do this!!

Goose were very common in the rural areas of Wales and was often used to create a cawl instead of a roast. You can accompany the goose with mash potatoes, gravy and present with buttery apples and root vegetables for a colourful touch.

INGREDIENTS

dollop of butter

– 1 whole goose, chopped or Duck

– 3 onions, chopped

– Water to cover

– 1 dried Bay leaf

– Oatmeal, 2 handfulls

METHOD

– Take a large pan to fit the goose and the onions, slightly fried in butter.

– Cover with cold water.

– Add salt and a bay leaf. Let it cook for about 2 hours.

– Remove the goose and add 2 handfuls of oatmeal until you reach a consistency you like. Then add salt and pepper.

– Put the goose back and turn off the heat until you are ready for the meal.

I am def going to do this this Christmas for the pkgs I put together for family and friends ..

I haven’t done this for a while but this has made me want to make this for a brunch Welsh Rarebit a little info on this dish

Why do they call it Welsh rarebit? A legend suggests that the meat-based name for this meatless dish stems from Welsh peasants for whom cheese was a substitute for the meat they could not afford. often paired with a pint of beer or ale. Here is the recipe from the FoodNetwork

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, being careful not to brown the flour. Whisk in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add beer and whisk to combine. Pour in cream and whisk until well combined and smooth. Gradually add cheese, stirring constantly, until cheese melts and sauce is smooth; this will take 4 to 5 minutes. Add hot sauce. Pour over toast and serve immediately. It is like a cheeses sauce on toast and My cheese sauce has a very secret ingredient Lol It is getting close to Christmas I will post some of My moms recipes she used to make every Christmas She put the Christmas in Christmas Oh how I miss my mom