While we may not eat the same things, the communal meal on Christmas is still a focal point of our festive gatherings and one that borrows from many other cultural traditions.
Colonial America had a different sort of Christmas day meal. Culinary historians say the holiday feasts of 1769 included eggnog, Virginia ham, biscuits, corn pudding, chicken and oyster pie, pumpkin chips, cucumber pickles, mincemeat pie, Filbert pudding, honey flummery, plum pudding, coffee and walnuts.
In Williamsburg, feasters also ate cheese wafers, chilled crab gumbo, mushroom dressing, turkey, celery with pecans, ambrosia and drank wassail. In Mount Vernon, onion soups, half-shell oysters, broiled salt roe herring, boiled rockfish and baked acorn squash were readily available.
On the side, they had candied sweet potatoes, spiced peaches, Port wine, cranberries, cherry pie, apple pie, plums in wine jelly, roast turkey and hominy pudding too. Each table showcased a bountiful harvest from all the hard work America's earliest pioneers underwent.
The holiday feast just wouldn't be complete without Christmas candy! While today chocolate and candy are associated with everything from Christmas to Halloween, to Valentine's Day to Easter, these treats were reserved only for holiday season treats for the wealthy because sugar was very expensive.
The candy canes we so commonly chomp on today were originally manufactured as lozenges, and as medicine to treat coughs, colds and infections. Today, down the aisles of supermarkets, there are Christmas-themed chocolates, Peeps, M&Ms, Snickers bars, foil wrapped Santas, suckers and candies of all types marketed as Christmas gifts.
To read more Celebrating Christmas With The Holiday Feast
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