Myths and Legends of Christmastide by Bertha F. Herrick

Author:Bertha F. Herrick [Herrick, Bertha F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Google: bHZCAAAAIAAJ
Publisher: Stanley-Taylor Company
Published: 1901-01-15T05:33:31+00:00

During the reign of Elizabeth the boar's head was the favorite holiday dish, and was served with mustard (then a rare and costly condiment), and decorated with bay-leaves and with rosemary, which was said to strengthen the memory, to clear the brain and to stimulate affection. Boars were originally sacrificed to the Scandinavian gods of peace and plenty, and many odes were composed in their honor.

That remarkable compound known as “wassail” was composed of warm ale or wine, sweetened with sugar and flavored with spices, and bearing upon its surface floating bits of toast and roasted crabs and apples. The huge bowl, gaily decorated with ribbons, was passed from hand to hand around the table, each guest taking a portion of its contents, as a sign of joviality and good-fellowship.

But the triumph of the pastry cook's art was “the rare minced pie,” the use of which is of great antiquity. The shape was formerly a narrow oblong, representing the celebrated manger at Bethlehem, and the fruits and spices of which it was composed were symbolic of those that the wise men of the Orient brought as offerings to their new-born King, while to partake of such a pie was considered a proof that the eater was a Christian and not a Jew.

All sorts of games were immensely popular with the English, whether king or serf, aristocrat or pauper, merchant or apprentice.

“A Christmas gambol oft could cheer

The poor man's heart thro' half the year.”

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