Wassail

[Reeve]

I'm going a-wassailing tonight, which mostly just involves going to a good friend's house, cooking up some wassail, and drinking. I'm making this thread to ask people what their holiday traditions, beverages, food recipes, etc. are.

Wassail

Christmas Wassail
====================

All juices should be good quality, not from concentrate

2 quarts Apple Juice
2 cups Orange Juice
1 cup Lemon Juice
1 18oz can Pineapple Juice
1-2 rounded teaspoons Whole Cloves
1/4-1/2 cup sugar

Bring all ingredients to boil in a large saucepan over moderately high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, partially cover the pot.

Serve hot with a cinnamon stick.

For those that can, add a generous dollop of brandy. I like about a quarter of my drink to be brandy.




And the song to go with the tradition:

Here we come a-wassailing
Among the leaves so green,
Here we come a-wand'ring
So fair to be seen.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And God bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And God send you a Happy New Year.


We are not daily beggers
That beg from door to door,
But we are neighbors' children
Whom you have seen before
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And God bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And God send you a Happy New Year.

Good master and good mistress,
As you sit beside the fire,
Pray think of us poor children
Who wander in the mire.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And God bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And God send you a Happy New Year

We have a little purse
Made of ratching leather skin;
We want some of your small change
To line it well within.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And God bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And God send you a Happy New Year.

Bring us out a table
And spread it with a cloth;
Bring us out a cheese,
And of your Christmas loaf.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And God bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And God send you a Happy New Year.

God bless the master of this house,
Likewise the mistress too;
And all the little children
That round the table go.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And God bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And God send you a Happy New Year.

Anyone else have recipes or traditions to share?

[Deleted]

Anyone else have recipes or traditions to share?

I suppose Hogmanay in Scotland counts for this. My local area in particular has the Stonehaven Fireballs





On new years eve, just before Midnight, a group of people walk up and down the high street swinging balls of fire around in circles before marching down to the harbour and hurling them as far as they can into the water when midnight hits. Definitely worth watching if you're in area.

There are similar 'Fire Festivals' all over Scotland, the Shetlands have one involving the procession and burning of a ship:



Asides from that, we've got the traditional burns poem which is often sung at Midnight, Auld Lang Syne. Chances are if you're not living under a rock you'll have heard it before, but I'll post the lyrics anyway.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne* ?

For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
and surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,
and pu’d the gowans fine ;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl’d i' the burn,
frae morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
and gie's a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,
for auld lang syne.

Or, if you prefer, the English translation:

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
and surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine† ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

Asides from that, the other major Hogmanay tradition is 'First-footing' which typically takes place after Midnight, where the first person to enter the house in the new year brings a gift and symbolises good luck for the rest of the year. Gifts typically are a bottle of whisky these days.

[Deleted]

I hate Robert Burns, I curse him every year! Every Burns night or Hogmanay it is me that has to stand up in the Officers mess and serve the bloody haggis or recite that poem which makes no sense

[Reeve]

That was awesome, Istaril, thanks for sharing!

[Ebildays]

After our parents passed away my sister and I decided to start taking our close friends out to a Christmas lunch on the first or second Thursday in December. Losting both our parents made us want to show how much we care for the people we love while they are still here. We pay for their meal and we also give out some type of gift basket, this year's theme is wine, as a parting gift. The other part of this event for us is that we also give a gift basket to our waiter/waitress and we leave whatever money is left over that we had planned to spend that day as a tip, between $60-$100. We are not rich people by any means and it takes us saving and planning for the entire year starting right after Christmas to pull it off but it is worth it to bring a little bit of Christmas cheer to those we hold dear.

New Orleans Double Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake (The cake that we bring to serve after lunch)

Cake

1 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Chocolate Ganache*
Praline Frosting**


Grease bottoms of 3 (8") round cakepans; line with wax paper.Grease and
flour wax paper and sides of pans.

Cook first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly,
until butter melts and mixture is smooth; remove from heat.Cool

Beat buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla at medium speed with an
electric mixer until smooth.Add butter mixture to buttermilk mixture,
beating until blended. Combine sugar, flour, and salt; gradually add to
buttermilk mixture, beating until blended.(Batter will be thin.)Pour batter
evenly into prepared pans.

Bake at 350 for 20 to 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center
comes out clean.Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.Remove from pans;
immediately remove wax paper.Cool completely on wire racks.(Layers will
appear thin.)

Spread about 1/2 cup ganache between cake layers; spread remainder on sides of cake (do not frost top of cake).Chill cake 30 minutes.Pour Praline
Frosting slowly over top of cake, spreading to edges, and allowing some
frosting to run over sides of cake.Freeze, if desired; thaw at room
temperature 4 to 6 hours.

Yield: 1 (3-layer) cake.

*Chocolate Ganache

2 cups (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter or margarine, cut into pieces

Microwave chocolate morsels and cream in a glass bowl (50% power) 2-3
minutes or until morsels are melted, stirring after 1 1/2 minutes; whisk
until smooth.Gradually add butter, whisking until smooth.Cool, whisking
often, about 25 minutes or until spreading consistency.Yield: about 2 cups.

**Praline Frosting

Do not prepare ahead of time or it will harden. Cook: 4 minutes Other: 5
minutes

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat,
stirring often; boil 1 minute.Remove from heat, and whisk in powdered sugar
and vanilla until smooth.Add toasted pecans, stirring gently 3 to 5 minutes
or until frosting begins to cool and thicken slightly.Pour frosting
immediately over cake.

Yield: about 2 cups

[Deleted]

I hate Robert Burns, I curse him every year! Every Burns night or Hogmanay it is me that has to stand up in the Officers mess and serve the bloody haggis or recite that poem which makes no sense

It makes perfect sense. You just don't speak Scots

(It's a language not a dialect go away)

Edit: Since we're doing recipes, I'll toss in Scottish Tablet



I can pretty much guarantee that you will not find anything better than Tablet. Anywhere. It's half way between Fudge and Hard toffee. Much sweeter. And OH so unhealthy. Also stupidly difficult to make properly.

Ingredients:

50g of butter
150ml of full fat milk
500g of granulated sugar
397g of condensed milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Recipe:

1. Thoroughly grease a 25mm deep baking tray with the butter.

2. Add the sugar and full fat milk to a large cooking pan and heat on a high heat until the sugar has dissolved.

3. Pour the condensed milk into the mixture and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until it thickens (roughly 20-25 minutes)

4. After it has thickened the mixture should turn to between a darkened yellow to light brown colour and should start to bubble, at this point add the vanilla extract.

5. Take off the heat and stir constantly at a fast pace until it thickens and turns a darker shade of brown (roughly 15 minutes) it should start coming away from the bottom of the pan and sticking to the spoon.

6. Pour into the greased tray and leave to cool for 15 minutes

7. Use a sharp knife to divide the tablet into several pieces, then leave to cool for a further 5-10 minutes

8. Yeah it's ready. Chances are you didn't stir fast enough or for long enough and it's too granularly though, I did mention it's a complete pain in the arse to do correctly.

[Jackmoves]

This time of year I think Sankta Lucia is the biggest tradition. Girls(sometimes boys, but it's more rare) and young children walk around singing, they give out gingerbread/cookies etc. You see these kind of processions everywhere, at school/uni, at the work place, at the bus stop, elderly homes etc. It's a big thing. Burning candles etc. It's a lovely tradition, imagine the winter darkness, now add lots of burning candles and torches, beautiful songs, etc, it creates a nice, warm and cozy vibe.

Anyways

Celebration
In the Nordic countries

In Sweden, Estonia, Denmark, Norway, and Finland, Lucia is venerated on December 13 in a ceremony where a girl is elected to portray Lucia. Wearing a white gown with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head, she walks at the head of a procession of women, each holding a candle. The candles symbolize the fire that refused to take Lucia's life when she was sentenced to be burned.

A couple of the songs(basically just songs about how she fights back the darkness lol, quite beautiful though)

Natten går tunga fjät, runt gård och stuva.
Kring jord som sol’n förgät, skuggorna ruva.
Då i vårt mörka hus, stiger med tända ljus,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.

Natten var stor och stum. Nu, hör, det svingar
i alla tysta rum, sus som av vingar.
Se, på vår tröskel står, vitklädd med ljus i hår,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.

Mörkret skall flykta snart, ur jordens dalar.
Så hon ett underbart ord till oss talar.
Dagen skall åter ny, stiga ur rosig sky,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sankta Lucia, ljusklara hägring,
sprid i vår vinternatt glans av din fägring.
Drömmar med vingesus under oss sia,
tänd dina vita ljus, Sankta Lucia.

Kom i din vita skrud, huld med din maning.
Skänk oss, du julens brud, julfröjders aning.
Drömmar med vingesus, under oss sia,
tänd dina vita ljus, Sankta Lucia.

Trollsejd och mörkermakt ljust du betvingar,
signade lågors vakt skydd åt oss bringar.
Drömmar med vingesus, under oss sia,
tänd dina vita ljus, Sankta Lucia.

Stjärnor som leda oss, vägen att finna,
bli dina klara bloss, fagra prästinna.
Drömmar med vingesus, under oss sia,
tänd dina vita ljus, Sankta Lucia.

[Dispersedshadow]

My mom had us all convinced that the holiday treat around our house, Seven Layer Bars / Magic Bars were her personal invention. By the time any of us were old enough to read the recipe on the can of condensed milk, we were addicted and her deceit was quickly forgiven. I still make a batch once or twice during this time of year.

[mistuhbull]

I light one of these


And then cry to myself about how Christmas is so much more fun to celebrate in the States