My Christmas this year will be subdued. I didn't feel up to
erecting and decorating a tree. Also I'm too old and uninsured to be balancing
on ladders. All of my holiday decorations are minimal. I'm not in my usual
joyous and celebratory mood. Seems nothing has gone right since returning from
Thailand 2 years ago. Perhaps the universe is punishing me for not expatriating
as planned. But as a future home, I found those developing countries disappointing.
I was reading that
the French celebrate Christmas quite differently from Americans. For one thing,
they don't go wild with colored lights and decorating! To me, that's what makes
Christmas special! But unlike my neighbors I never decorate the outside of my
home beyond a wreath. Yet, I do love decorating the inside, but this year it
just seems like a bother. However the
holidays only arrive once a year and I'm determined to enjoy them. So I'll be
embracing some Gallic traditions.
I've decorated the fireplace and my formal table under the
chandelier is gorgeous. And of course I'll light scented candles; I'm partial
to cinnamon bun & candied maple sugar.
I own at least half a dozen berets, so I may place one atop
my head before sitting down to Christmas dinner. Also I plan to play French
Christmas carols.
The French do put up a tree which I'm forgoing this year,
although that's a German tradition. The Hessian soldiers brought this custom to
America during the Revolutionary War. To compensate for my lack of a tree I've
gone a little overboard with garlands this year.
For my Christmas dinner I'm having a chicken breast stuffed
with brie & apple along with garlic mashed potatoes, plus a Technicolor toss
salad with tiny cultivars, (the colorful jewels of tomatoes) combined with sweet
peppers.
Raw oysters are served as part of the Gallic holiday meal.
I've loved these since I was a child so they will be on my menu! If I wasn't
poor, I'd top them with caviar. But the inexpensive kind tastes like it came
from a catfish, so I'll top with cooked spinach & herbs instead.
The French don't drink eggnog, but champagne. Well I don't
need to numb my brain or impair my judgment to enjoy myself! Good or bad, I
want to be 100 per cent in the moment! So scratch that one!
I visited France on a group tour way back in 1978. We spent
3 days in Paris and then boarded a plane for the French Rivera. In Paris, I
took 2 sips of champagne at the Moulin Rouge and that was enough. I'm having
cinnamon plum tea to drink.
The French seem to set the style for everything! My 9th
Grade Civics teacher explained to the class how ultra short hair became a trend
in the 1940's."During the war," he said, "many French women had
German lovers. After the Germans were driven out, these women were shamed for
being collaborators and publicly had their heads shaved. Not long after, American
tourists arrived and seeing the French women with short hair, assumed it must
be the latest trend and aped it." That was HIS theory, anyway!
Here's a joke from my childhood: Why are there so many tree lined boulevards
in France?...Answer: So the German Army
could march in the shade!
For some reason my father disliked the French! I argued that
they showed the Nazis a hard time. He laughed and said they showed'em a good
time! -- Geez, Dad was stationed in the Pacific during WWII. So how would he
know? But then Lininger is a German name!
Strange, my family always observed the French custom of
opening presents on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas morning. I always found
this to be an anti-climax! I was scooted off to bed directly afterward and
couldn't play with anything until the next AM. -- I was the one who put an end
to this custom in our family!
This year I will be aping many Gallic traditions myself, but
selectively.
I read that for Christmas dessert the French eat only fruit &
cheese! Really? Geez! This is the land of pastry!!! On Christmas I'm allowed a
real dessert!!!
Chocolate truffles are a part of a French Christmas, however
not with the big meal. This suits me fine; I always have them around for the
holidays.
And by the way, the pastry in Austria is just as toothsome. But
for my Christmas dessert I'm having a German stollen; a traditional Teutonic
fruitcake with marzipan filling. A nod to my ancestry! Also I'm keeping some
American customs, too. However, this
year it will be mostly Gallic at my house.
But for New Year's, I might go in a completely different
direction. I'm thinking Salmon Wellington and Figgy pudding... No, on second
thought forget that! Spanakopita with lots of feta cheese followed by Baklava
oozing nuts & honey seems a much better choice!
Since I can't afford any trips abroad in the near future,
I'm going to enjoy holiday vacations at home!
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