According to tradition, the Christmas Eve fast ends with the appearance of the first evening star in the sky, which announced to the whole world the time of the birth of the Son of God - that's when the celebration of Christmas begins.
On Christmas Day, it is customary for the whole family to gather for a Christmas dinner, and the festive table is decorated with traditional dishes- each country has its own.
Turkey, duck or goose is a fairly common Christmas dish.
In England, the obligatory dishes at Christmas are oven-baked turkey with gooseberry sauce and Christmas pudding, which is doused with rum, set on fire and flaming is placed on the table.
In the United States, a turkey with cranberry sauce is served for Christmas dinner.
In France, a holiday is not a holiday if there is no turkey baked in white wine at the Christmas table. They also eat oysters, goose liver pate, cheeses and champagne.
In Denmark they eat duck or goose, stuffed with apples, rice pudding and sweet rice porridge with cinnamon and raisins.
In Ireland, a turkey or a ham is cooked for Christmas, in Greece - a turkey in wine, in Lithuania and Germany - a roast goose.
Germans always put a dish of apples, nuts, raisins and marzipans on the table at Christmas.
In China, where quite a lot of Christians live, an imperial dish is prepared for Christmas - the famous Peking duck.
But on the festive tables of Austria, Hungary, the Balkan countries there is never a Christmas goose, duck, chicken, turkey. They believe that it is impossible to eat a bird this evening - happiness will fly away.
In Belgium, veal sausage with truffles, boar meat, traditional cake, and wine are put on the Christmas table. In Holland - rabbit, venison or game, in Luxembourg - blood sausage, apples, local sparkling wine.
Italians at Christmas eat fish or seafood, tortellini and wash it all down with champagne.
In Spain they serve roasted on a spit suckling pig, which is washed down with sherry. On the holiday table every Spaniard will definitely have seafood - shrimp, crabs, lobsters, as well as Christmas sweets - halva, marzipans, anise candies.
And Portugal on this day eats bacalao - a dish of dried salted cod, which is washed down with port wine.
Very thoroughly prepare for Christmas in the Scandinavian countries. Two weeks before the holiday, Christmas piglets are slaughtered, black pudding is made, meat is salted and smoked. Then they start preparing beer, which is brewed for three to four days without a break from morning to evening.
Christmas - Holy holiday, and in Russia it was always looked forward to, but celebrated widely and cheerfully. In a series of traditional festivities, skating and fortune-telling, the Russian people did not forget about the feast. But how? After all, it was before Christmas. Let not the strictest, with permission sometimes eat fish, but still - fasting.
special christmas fish dish we didn't, it's on Easter table you can’t do without fish, and at Christmas the main thing is meat. They slaughtered cattle for Christmas, salted hams, smoked ham, stuffed sausages, pig heads and stomachs. They caroled - they walked through the streets on the eve of Christmas and sang: “Give the gut and the leg through the window!”
They did not spare meat and cabbage soup. After lean fish, with sturgeon head or smelt, they broke the fast with rich cabbage soup - with boiled lamb or beef, whitening them with sour cream, milk or cream.
But the conversation did not begin at all with meat - in Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve, with the first star it was necessary to taste sochi (it is also kolivo, or kutya). And only then, after matins - raise a glass under a roast goose or a pig's head. It came-rolled Nativity! Have fun, guys - Christmas time has come!
In some provinces, special pancakes were baked for Christmas - made from oatmeal. They gave them to friends, invited relatives to oatmeal pancakes. Oats were generally considered one of the symbols of Christmas celebrations. Vasiliev evening, New Year's Eve in the old style, was also called Ovsen.
TO oatmeal pancakes a special dish - pryazhina - perfectly suits. In Belarus, it is called machanka, from the word "dunk" - not only pancakes are dipped in thick meat gravy, but also traditional belarusian potato pancakes, boiled potatoes, just freshly baked bread.
Roe deers were baked for sweets in the northern Russian provinces. Intricate, in the form of cows, sheep, goats, deer. In every house, the housewives, together with the children, sculpted them with their hands, passing on traditions from generation to generation. Sometimes tin notches were used, it is not difficult to make them yourself from a simple strip of tin. Children's molds for fun with sand are also suitable - they just need to be greased with oil from the inside. Dough options for goats are very different, from simple unleavened rye to gingerbread - on butter and egg yolks. Novgorod region has its own version - voluminous "cows" from unleavened dough mixed with milk. Not necessarily in the form of a cow, by the way. Even the birds from such a dough, molded and baked for Christmas, were called cows.
We warmed up at Christmas with a sbiten. Children were offered a non-alcoholic version, adults - strong, with beer, brandy, vodka or wine.
The Christmas table in any Russian house looked especially festive. Often it was left covered for the whole time Christmas time(12 days from Christmas to Epiphany), and a wide variety of treats were not removed from him - in anticipation of an uninvited, but always welcome guest or carolers. Under the most elegant tablecloths, it was customary to put a bunch of straw - as a reminder of the birth of the baby Christ in a barn near Bethlehem. In some Russian regions, this custom has survived to this day ...
TO: To all employees
DATE: December 1
RE: Christmas Dinner
I am pleased to inform you that our company invites you to the Christmas Dinner, which will take place on December 23 at noon, in a separate room of the BBQ.
There will also be a bar with enough alcoholic beverages. We've got a small band playing traditional Christmas carols... sing along if you like. And don't be surprised if our principal comes dressed as Santa Claus.
We'll turn on the lights on the Christmas tree at one o'clock. At the same time, employees can exchange gifts, however, with a value of no more than 10.00, so as not to lighten your pockets too much. Only our employees are invited to the celebration!
Our director also intends to give a speech during the celebration.
FROM: Patti Lewis, Head of Human Resources
TO: To all employees
DATE: December 2
RE: Holiday
In yesterday's appeal, we did not at all want to expel our Jewish co-workers. We recognize that Hanukkah is an important holiday that often coincides with Christmas, although unfortunately not this year. However, from now on, we will simply refer to the party as "Holiday Dinner".
The same applies to all of our non-Christian employees and those who celebrate other holidays.
There will be no Christmas tree. There will be no Christmas songs. There will be other music to please you.
Satisfied?
Merry Christmas to you and your families! Patty.
FROM: Patti Lewis, Head of Human Resources
TO: To all employees
DATE: December 3
RE: Holiday Dinner
About the note I got from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous demanding a non-drinking table... who didn't sign. I'll be happy to grant that request, but if I put "AA Only" on the table, you won't be anonymous anymore. How should I proceed in this case?
Anyone?
Forget about exchanging gifts, gifts are not allowed because union members think 10.00 is too expensive and the board thinks 10.00 is too little for a gift. GIFT EXCHANGE IS NOT ALLOWED.
FROM: Patti Lewis, Head of Human Resources
To: All Employees
DATE: December 7
RE: Holiday Dinner
What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that on December 20, the Muslim month of Ramadan begins, during which it is forbidden to eat and drink during the day. Here is your holiday! Seriously, we understand that lunch at this time of the year goes against the beliefs of our Muslim employees.
Perhaps the BBQ may not serve your portions until the end of the meal - or maybe pack your food so you can take everything home in small boxes. It is good for you?
At the same time, I arranged for the table for the members of the Weight Watchers group to be as far away from the dessert table as possible, and for the pregnant women to sit close to the toilet.
Homosexuals can sit together. Lesbians are not required to sit with homosexuals, each group will have its own table. Yes, we will put flowers on the table for homosexuals. That man who asked permission to dress in a woman's dress - no, it is nevertheless not allowed.
We arrange high chairs for the short ones. We take care of the food reduced calorie for people on a diet. We cannot monitor the amount of salt in cooked meals, and we advise people with high blood pressure to try it first.
There will be fresh fruit for diabetics, the restaurant cannot provide desserts without sugar. Sorry!
What else have I missed?!?!?
Patty
FROM: Patti Lewis, Head of Human Resources
TO: Everyone #$%^&*! Employees
DATE: December 10
RE: Festive %#*&^%@*%^ Lunch
Vegetarians?!?!?! Well, my patience has run out!!! We intend to spend this holiday at the BBQ, whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table farthest from the "kitchen of death", as you cutely call it, and you will get your #$%^&* salad, including hydroponic grown tomatoes.
But you know, they have feelings too. Tomatoes scream when they are cut. I heard them scream. I can still hear those screams!
HA!
I hope your holiday is disgusting! So that you get behind the wheel drunk and die, do you hear?!?!
BITCH FROM HELL
FROM: Joan Bishop, Acting Head of Human Resources
DATE: December 14
RE: Patti Lewis and the Holiday Dinner
I'm sure I'll speak for everyone by wishing Patty Lewis a speedy recovery from her stress-induced nervous breakdown. I will continue to send your greeting cards to the clinic. For the time being, the board has decided to cancel the holiday lunch and give all employees a day off with full pay on December 23rd.
Happy holiday to you!
Christmas dinner
Christmas! Truly a misanthrope should be one in whose heart, at the onset of Christmas, living feelings do not glow, in whose memory sweet memories do not awaken. Some will tell you that Christmas is not like it used to be; that every time Christmas comes, another hope for a happy future, which they cherished last year, collapses; that the present only reminds them of diminishing incomes, of straitened circumstances, of the feasts they gave to false friends, and of the cold looks with which they are greeted now, in the hour of trials and tribulations. Never give in to such gloomy thoughts, for anyone who has lived long enough in the world could call them up daily. Do not overshadow the most cheerful of all three hundred and sixty-five days of the year with bitter memories, but rather move your chair closer to the blazing fireplace, fill your glass to the brim and sing a song. If it so happens that your room is cramped than a dozen years ago, the glasses are filled with smoking punch, and not sparkling wine - do not show that you are upset, drain your glass as soon as possible, pour another, tighten the old song that was sung in the previous times, thank God you didn't get worse. Look at the cheerful faces of the children gathered by the fire (if you have them). Perhaps one small chair is already empty, perhaps in the family circle there is no longer that lovely little baby who gladdened the heart of the father and whom the mother admired with pride. Do not dwell on the past, do not think that the ruddy, clear-eyed boy, who just a year ago sat in front of you, is now turning into dust. Think about the joys of being that you enjoy now - everyone has a lot of them; do not indulge in thoughts about past sorrows - they fall to the lot of every person. So fill your glass again, and let your forehead light up with joy, and peace descend in your heart. With all my heart I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Who is able to remain indifferent to the outpourings of good feelings and sincere manifestations of tender affection, which are so generously lavished these days? Christmas family holiday! There is nothing more delightful in the world! Already in the very word "Christmas" there is some kind of charm. Insignificant disagreements and quarrels are forgotten, friendly feelings have awakened in hearts that have long cooled down; father and son, brother and sister, who have avoided meeting for many months or exchanged cold greetings, now, on this happy day, open tender embraces to each other and forget the old quarrels. Loving hearts, whose mutual attraction has been stifled by false notions of pride and self-respect, are united again, and kindness and benevolence reign everywhere. Ah, if Christmas only lasted all year round(as it should be), if prejudices and passions, which distort the best aspects of our nature, always remained alien to people and did not poison their lives!
The Christmas family holiday we are talking about is not a chance meeting of relatives invited a week or two in advance who decide to meet this year, although they have not met in the past and are unlikely to meet in the future. No, this is the annual gathering of all the members of the family present - old and small, rich and poor - and all the children have been feverishly looking forward to it for two months before Christmas. Previously, the holiday was celebrated at grandfather's, but now grandfather is old, grandmother is also old and sick, they no longer run their household, but live with Uncle George. So the feast is now celebrated at Uncle George's house, but Grandmother still orders most of the treats, and Grandfather always hobbles all the way to Newgate Market, where he buys a turkey, which is solemnly delivered to the house by a porter specially hired for the occasion. At the insistence of the grandfather, the porter is always treated in excess of the agreed fee - a glass of alcohol, which he drinks with the wish of a merry Christmas and a happy New Year to Uncle George's wife. And that grandmother, two or three days before the holiday, assumes an extraordinary mystery, which, however, does not prevent rumors from spreading that she has acquired lovely bonnets with pink ribbons for the maids, as well as all kinds of books, penknives and pencil cases for young offspring. family, not to mention the fact that, in addition to the orders of Uncle George's wife, the confectioner's grandmother secretly ordered an extra dozen sweet pies to be baked for dinner and a large plum pie for the children.
On Christmas Eve, grandmother is invariably in an excellent mood. She makes the children peel plums all day, and then, invariably from year to year, tells Uncle George to go down to the kitchen, take off his coat, and stir the pudding for at least half an hour, which Uncle George obediently does to the noisy delight of children and servants. The evening ends with a merry game of hide and seek. and even at the very beginning of the game, grandfather tries his best to be caught and thereby given him the opportunity to also show his agility.
The next morning, the old people, taking with them as many children as fit on the bench, solemnly set off for God's temple. Uncle George and aunt stay at home. She wipes the decanters and puts mustard and horseradish into the bowls, and he brings bottles to the dining room, demands that he be given a corkscrew, and gets in everyone's way.
Returning from church for breakfast, grandfather takes a sprig of mistletoe from his pocket and makes the boys kiss their little cousins under it. This procedure, which gives boundless pleasure to the boys and the old gentleman, but somewhat offends grandmother's notions of morality, continues until the grandfather begins to tell that when he was only thirteen years and three months old, he also kissed his grandmother under the mistletoe branch. On hearing this story, the children clap their hands and laugh merrily, Uncle George and aunt laugh too, and grandmother, with a pleased look and a good-natured smile, declares that grandfather was a terrible rake. At these words, the children laugh more than ever, and grandfather the loudest.
But the most exciting moment comes later, when the grandmother in a high cap and a dark gray silk dress, and the grandfather in a magnificent ruffled jabot and a white neckerchief, awaiting guests, take their places in the living room near the fireplace, seating Uncle George's children in front of him along with countless little ones. cousins and cousins. Suddenly there is the sound of a cab approaching the house; Uncle George, who was looking out the window, exclaims, "Jane has arrived!" The children rush to the door and roll head over heels down the stairs, and already Uncle Robert, Aunt Jane, their lovely baby and nurse go upstairs, accompanied by enthusiastic exclamations of children and warnings of the nurse, constantly repeating: "Do not hurt the child!" The grandfather takes the baby in her arms, the grandmother kisses her daughter, and before the noise caused by the arrival of the first guests has subsided, the rest of the uncles and aunts already appear with a new batch of cousins and cousins. The grown-up cousins look after their cousins, the younger ones follow the example of the older ones, and the laughter and conversation all merge into a chaotic merry rumble.
During the momentary lull there will be a timid knock on the front door. "Who is this?" - everyone asks; children. those who stood at the window say in a whisper: "It's poor Aunt Margaret"; Uncle George leaves the room to meet the guest, and Grandmother has an unnatural arrogant expression on her face - after all, Margaret, without the consent of her mother, married a poor man, and since poverty was not a severe enough punishment for this offense, her friends turned away from her, and her closest relatives expelled her from the bosom of the family. But then came Christmas, and the unfriendliness, which for a whole year struggled with kinder feelings, melted under its life-giving influence, just as the first thin ice melts under the rays of the morning sun. In a moment of anger, it is not difficult for a mother to condemn a recalcitrant daughter, but it is quite another matter to push her away from the hearth, in the midst of general fun and goodwill, at which she sat so many times on this holiday, over the years turning from a child into a girl, and suddenly imperceptibly blossomed into a young woman. woman. The affected expression of offended virtue and cold forgiveness is not at all suited to the face of the old lady, and when the sister brings the poor thing in - pale and inconsolable - not from poverty (she could endure poverty), but from the consciousness of injustice and undeserved insult, it is easy to see how much this expression feignedly. There is a momentary pause... The young woman suddenly breaks out of her sister's arms and sobs. falls on the mother's neck. The father hurriedly steps forward and holds out his hand to her husband. Friends crowd around with heartfelt congratulations, and harmony and happiness reign in the family again.
As for dinner, it is truly delightful: everything is going excellently, everyone is in the best mood, trying to please themselves and others. Grandpa goes into great detail about buying a turkey, making small digressions on how other Christmas turkeys were purchased in previous years, and Grandma corroborates his story down to the smallest detail. Uncle George tells jokes, cuts game, drinks wine, jokes with children sitting at the side table, winks at cousins and cousins in love, and touches everyone with his cordiality and gaiety. When, finally, a fat maid enters the room, barely holding in her hands a giant pudding, on the top of which a holly branch flaunts, then such unimaginable screams and laughter rise up, the children clap their plump hands and stamp their short fat legs so much that all this noise can be compared only with enthusiastic applause, with which young guests greet the amazing spectacle when lit rum is poured into sweet pies. And dessert! And the wine! And what a laugh! What excellent speeches! And what songs the husband of Aunt Margaret sings, who turned out to be a very pleasant young man and so attentive to his grandmother! As for grandfather, he not only performs his usual song with extraordinary enthusiasm, for which, in accordance with the annual ritual, he is awarded a unanimous “encore!” the prankster cousin, whom grandparents did not much like for some serious sin - neglect of visits and excessive addiction to Burton ale - will make everyone laugh with amusing comic couplets to the point of colic.
Thus, in the midst of peaceful joy, the evening passes, awakening in each of those present more love for their neighbor and strengthening their cordial disposition towards each other for a whole year stronger than a good half of the sermons composed by a good half of all the clergy in the world.
I found some time and energy to write a post. For some, writing posts is probably very easy and simple, but not for me. Sometimes there is not enough time or energy.
In general, the first half of the week passed "in the kitchen", one might say.
By Wednesday morning, the previously planned list was prepared:
- gastronomic panettone
- focaccia
- chocolate lights
- "gingerbread" honey-ginger
+ I even managed to bake, not planned, the details of a honey-ginger future house for celebrating New Year's at home
All this, along with other dishes of the "Christmas" dinner, was eaten yesterday in my husband's office to cheers. Among them was a call to repeat such a dinner next year, an offer to "feed" everyone like this daily, and a particularly warm appreciation of "gingerbread" (from what was left from dinner) by the office concierge, who asked my husband to pass it on to his wife, i.e. me that he had never tried such "tasty and fragrant sweets".
In general, everyone especially liked the focaccia and chocolate fires that I prepared.
Under the cut there are a lot of photos of all the "dishes" and the recipe for "lights".
Preparations began with honey-gingerbread, the dough for which I kneaded on Saturday. On Sunday, I baked them and painted them as best I could (I was already pretty tired, so my fantasy was almost at zero)
In the evening, a pattern was made for the future gingerbread house.
On Monday I worked on chocolate lights and baked the details of the house. I will show the house literally in one photo, since there is still work and work on it. 
Well, now I’ll go directly to the chocolate lights. Recipe and some photos.
For shortbread cookies:
500 gr flour
300 g softened butter (or margarine)
300 gr sugar
4 egg yolks
1 sachet vanilla, a pinch of salt
For cream (filling lights):
300 gr milk chocolate
250 gr cream (fat. 32-35%)
half a glass of rum
To cover:
2 packs (125 gr each) of chocolate icing
Cooking shortbread dough for the base of the "fires". Grind sugar with yolks, add salt, vanillin, diced butter, and gradually adding flour, knead the dough. From ready dough Shape into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
After that, roll out the dough into a layer about 0.3-0.5 cm thick and cut out round cookies from it (about 4-5 cm in diameter). 
Bake the base cookies in the oven until cooked at 180 degrees, about 6-10 minutes (depending on the oven). Then cool completely.
Preparing cream filling. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil, remove it from the heat as soon as the first "bulks" appear on the surface. Add to hot cream broken into small pieces milk chocolate and stir continuously until it is completely melted.
Pour the resulting mass into a well-chilled (in advance) bowl, pour in half a glass of rum and start beating with a mixer at maximum speed. If the cream is not whipped, that is, it is still warm, you can put it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. The result should be a cream with persistent peaks so that you can form fire cones from it, but here it is also important not to overdo it with whipping, otherwise it will turn out to be "grainy" in taste.
With the help of a pastry bag, form “lights” from the cream on a sand base. Refrigerate them for 2-3 hours.
Melt the chocolate icing (I already had it ready) and dip each "light" into it. From above, the lights can be decorated with chopped walnut or confectionery sprinkles.
I, this time, the lights were "pure" chocolate. 
Well, on Tuesday I baked focaccia and collected gastronomic panettone. This time my focaccia came out not very airy, but, despite this, I really liked it. 
Now let's move on to a more detailed description of the panettone. In general, the sweet Italian panettone is better known, but there is also a gastronomic panettone, or "salty" - one of the traditional Christmas dishes.
To prepare it, you need, first of all, a "loaf" white bread in the form of a high Easter cake, which is cut into disks about 1 cm thick. Then the gastronomic panettone itself is formed, the fillings can be completely different - meat, vegetable, fish.
I just had panettone for "all tastes".
We bought the bread ready for stuffing. 
And she came up with the fillings herself, based on the fact that among the normal "eaters" there should also be a vegetarian.
I decided to start with "meat" fillings, gradually moving to fish, and then to vegetable-vegetarian ones.
The first layer was made from the only one sold in Italy smoked sausage called "Hungarian" (do not be surprised, sausages are traditionally made only dry-cured), laid on a thinly spread layer of mayonnaise. 
The second layer was a thinly spread layer of mascarpone and Parma ham. 
Next, I thought about the fish layers, so I decided to separate them from the "meat" with a layer of fried vegetables in the form of zucchini to neutralize the taste.
They were followed by a layer of tuna with capers and finely chopped chives and parsley on a bed of mayonnaise. 
Next came a layer of slightly salted smoked salmon on a soft cream pillow (Philadelphia cheese, a little cream and finely chopped chives). 
After it, I planned to make a layer of mascarpone, the remaining salmon and red caviar. 
But when I opened a jar of caviar, recently purchased at Moscow time, a pillar of a very unpleasant smell rushed at me. Apparently, the caviar was far from the first freshness, besides, it looked suspiciously fine-grained ... In general, the whole jar was thrown into the trash can ... ((
And I had to come up with an alternative layer on the go. I decided to separate all previous layers from the next, and repeat the sausage-meat taste. For this layer, I cut both the sausage and the ham into small squares and lay them out as a mixture. 
Three vegetarian layers followed:
the first - from Caprino cheese with cream, a small amount tomato paste and black pepper with finely chopped red radicchio (chicory); 
the second - from champignons lightly fried in butter, and later stewed in cream, with freshly chopped parsley
the third - from fried in olive oil with garlic zucchini sprinkled with freshly chopped parsley 
In general, I collected all the ordered "food" for my husband for lunch. 
And he "in return" also brought me a box with gifts. 
Inside which were:
Bottle of Barbaresco
Bottle of prosecco 
Several types of various sauces and creams 
And also pasta based on Barolo (which we brought last winter from Barolo's homeland - Piedmont) 
Sauces and creams make me think about their possible use in the upcoming holidays. Tomorrow I have a big shopping day.
