| |
| |
|
Holidays Information |
|
|
|
A Dash of Cinnamon, A Pinch of the Past, A Smidgen of the Future
Close your eyes and remember December, the smell of cinnamon in your mother's or grandmother's kitchen and the warm scent of dough baking in the oven. Imagine opening the oven door and, with assistance, taking out the heated cookie sheet. Devour the cookies, small works of art, with your eyes: Fudge Brownies, Gingerbread, Nut Rolls, Painted Cookies, Sugar Cookies... With each bite, taste your childhood and family history. You can trace your blood and traditions not by DNA, genealogies and family heirlooms, but by recipes given from one generation to the next, like oral histories handed down in clans before recorded fact caught on. Scholars once sniffed at "women's lore," but the notations of "1 dash nutmeg" and "1 cup chopped nuts," when handwritten on a yellowing page, are as important to memorize as the dates of the American Revolution. They are a tangible reminder of love, care and craft in any society, but particularly in America, where encouragement to eat bags of artificially sweetened store-bought Christmas sweets leave people sugar-craving, guilty, physically and emotionally empty Christmas cookies are the opposite of this trend. They represent home, family, comfort, joy, and tradition. It's a miraculous event when generations gather around the stove to spend a day together, getting their hands dirty and sharing of themselves. It is miraculous because those memories are irreplaceable. It's miraculous because children get curious and ask, for example, "Why are the Christmas cookies German? What was Christmas like when you were my age? Did Santa Claus visit you?" Mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather can share with children the family history and everyday moments in the past, such as, "Your grandmother made a mistake and measured one cup of walnuts when the recipe called for half a cup. But the cookies tasted better, so to this day we always use 1 cup of walnuts in the recipe." By reliving these rare glimpses of a life you may have forgotten, you honor and celebrate yourself as well as your family. Christmas cookies themselves transmit and record history and tradition. In addition, Christmas cookies are a thread to Christmas past, not only our past, but long past. The word cookie came about thanks to Dutch settlers in North America during the 1700s to 1900s. Koek is Dutch for cake, so koekje, later cookie in English, means "little cake." Christmas cookies like German Springerle continue the custom of serving Christmas baked goods started by the Romans, Teutonic/Germanic tribes, and other pre-Christian civilizations. Christian religions sanctified these symbols of worship of the harvest gods by adding a "J" on the top to mark the breads as offerings to Jesus Christ. Ancient European peoples ate gingerbread at Winter Solstice feasts. When you bake gingerbread and Springerle, you're participating in a tradition that endures. In that spirit, here is a recipe for successful cookie-making: Start with 1 family, 1 kitchen, and a box of recipes. Add an uninterrupted period of time. Subtract phone calls, televisions, or any other distractions. For best results, add the Prayer Before Baking from CHRISTMAS COOKIES ARE FOR GIVING: "God bless this mixture with the sweetest and tastiest ingredients: joy, faith, family, friendship, love, and health. Let the scent of this holiday offering rise to Heaven and make the angels sing, for the happiness of mankind is their feast. Let us taste our blessings with each bite as we share the company of our loved ones. Amen." Sprinkle with laughter. Add amusing family stories with a lavish hand. Fold in 1 cup patience and understanding, blended with 1 gallon youthful enthusiasm and a pinch of baking know-how. Eat your mistakes with joy. Bake lovingly and well. Enjoy warm, delicious, Christmas miracle cookie-baking memories for years to come! About The Author Copyright Kristin Johnson. Kristin Johnson is co-author of the "highly recommended" Midwest Book Review pick, Christmas Cookies Are For Giving: Stories, Recipes and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts (ISBN: 0-9723473-9-9). A downloadablemedia kit is available at our Web site, www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com, or e-mail the publisher (info@tyrpublishing.com) to receive a printed media kit and sample copy of the book. More articles available at http://www.bakingchristmascookies.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Holidays - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Holiday Gift Ideas For Antique Lovers 1. Knowledge is Power. What Are And How To Use Free Ecard and Free Ecards You can consider free ecards as being the same thing as normally greetings cards. The difference is that an ecard is an electronic card. The Spirit of Fathers Day Some time ago I received a gift from both of my children. It was spontaneous and had nothing to do with Father's day. EASTER: The Bunny and The Egg Ever wonder why there's an "Easter Bunny"? Ever wonder why he brings eggs? And dyed ones at that!The Rabbit and the Hare, because of their frequent multiple births, are long time symbols of fertility. According to pre-Christian fertility lore, long before Jesus Christ was born, the Easter Bunny, aka the Easter Hare, represented the new life during the Spring season. Consider the Egg The glorious egg, with its deep links to Creation mythology, is one of the oldest symbols of life and rebirth known to us. Many gods, demons and heroes have sprung from eggs. Bust Holiday Stress! The holidays will be here before you know it. Clear the way for greater joy, love and meaning this year by "busting" these sources of holiday stress:1. Animatronic Halloween Props - Cardboard Carpentry One of the most inexpensive ways to create stonewalls in your home/haunt is by using good-'ol cardboard boxes. Boxes laid flat and painted to the desired effect are relatively easy and cheap methods of creating stonewall effects. Getting Great Pictures of the Kids this Halloween There she was in all her glory. Long white lab coat, frizzy hair, safety goggles -- and a face smeared with the black ash of an experiment gone terrifically wrong. How To Stay Slim During The Holiday Season The majority of people find themselves carrying additional fat once the holidays are over. Worst of all, most of them never lose this extra weight. Rubber Stamping and Scrapbooking will Bring the Family Together During The Holidays No matter what celebration you and your family will rejoice in this holiday season, the common thread is family unity and the joy of sharing in the relationships with others.Remembering the past is always an important part when bringing the family together. Whatever Happened to Christmas? Remember when no one started Christmas shopping until after Thanksgiving?Wisconsin author LeAnn R. Ralph remembers it very well. No Paws from Santa Claus The Holidays are coming and children have thought long and hard about the gifts they would most want to receive this year. Trucks, trains, Groovey girls and scooters are popular gifts this year. The History And Origin Of Valentines Day The oldest Valentine card still in existence was sent in 1415 by Charles Duke of Orleans, at the time a prisoner in the Tower of London, to his wife. The Duke's Valentine's card is now preserved and displayed in the British Museum. Gift Shopping Tips for Tight Budgets Have you seen the prices of greeting cards lately? It is hideous! Once you purchase the card and gift-wrap, your overall cost can easily increase by $10 to$15. If you are on a tight budget, this can be difficult as you spend more on the fluff and less on the actual gift. Greeting Card Tango: How To Impress, Not Stress, During The Holidays When it comes to holiday greeting cards, to send or not to send is often the question. Once you have decided in the affirmative, you then have to determine who to include on your list, what kind of card to choose and how to address the envelope. The Cheapest Christmas Ever! Have you ever said "I wish we didn't have to spend so much money on Christmas?" or "I wish we could have Christmas without going into debt!" Well here is your answer - tell your family that next Christmas no one is allowed to buy a new, expensive gift for anyone! Yes, I really said that. Tell them that all presents must be from garage sales, tag sales, yard sales, auctions, handmade or made over. Valentines Day Love Letter - The Best And Most Romantic Gift Is Also The Least Expensive! You don't have to spend a fortune this Valentine's Day to show your partner that you love them!One of the most romantic, creative and inexpensive gifts you can give your partner this Valentine's Day is a heartfelt love letter, written from the bottom of your heart!A heartfelt letter from a man can mean so much more to a woman than just a bunch of roses, box of chocolates or a piece of jewelry.However, most men feel challenged when it comes to expressing their love in words, especially in writing. Give Presence Not Presents Throughout the year we have many gift-giving opportunities to show love to those around us. From Christmas to Birthdays, Valentines Day and more, our thoughts turn to finding the perfect gift. Birthday Flowers Birthdays are one thing you can count on. We all have them and I'm willing to bet, all of your family members and friends have them too. Mother's Day Crafts Make these quick and easy crafts with your children for Mother's day. These can be handmade for Mom or Grandma!Flower Pens for MomIs your mom always looking for a pen around the house, and can't find one? Well make this pen and she'll spot it right away!What You'll Need? Bic Pen (ball point)? silk flower? floral foam? low temp hot glue gun? floral tape? paint or markers? small notepaper or Post-It pads? small to medium sized terra cotta potHow To Do ItNote: Adult supervision is needed when using a glue gun.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
