EVOLUTION OF THE XMAS CAKE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 308, 24 December 1908, Page 3

EVOLUTION OF THE XMAS CAKE

, ~Ye I '.v..Uny..wafei>like cakes-made of' „ 1 ,»™L««jl honey -were -usedas tokens of' . ¥." 0 4>V.'. 1 . 1 - ■'» Ku'»e long -before- the Christian era. 'When Christiiiuitf-borrffwed ~m ! I P X .Vi Wu> Pagan: emblems' • connected . w ,'J-', h t!',e.-.ivild„j:ites..of--the Saturnalia, periornieil at Viiletide, Hie "tiny' Yule cakes,were^uloptad-as -offerings between, JriemK ;..,-.... --- : Yule lueans a wheel. It is tliCfestival ..".( .> v . l ;.<'e!-,l l iir.u. J ,whaii-tlii. -Smr-god turns j!lf..f ,l AH"V.fui;. i i .new circle-of the he"a'vA'. 1 I'hc. coloured with saffron to uihuic the sniiY hue. ;, .... ..... ....

wafer"had iucivased to that of"a yiiVaTl bun,, sti|l.'i-ool;ed,very.yellow; Plenteous -VJjg-i'.oJk. Used, in inixiiig-iiehieveifthe "'"WSJ 1 . within, with- 'eolouring -froiii crocus llowei-s.-addedythis-bci'irg the source..of saffron. ,- ' ... Ai)ciently,.the. Jews- had- niinca-Kiffi'rings 0.1. littie. hard cakes,-unleavened, fofmed of meal and water. These cakes weft" tokens..of .goodwill, and- peace:. between the givers and-the receivers.-- ' There was a sort-of-combination made' when the, early-Christians, accepted'the' pagan wafer-offerings of thcSaturnalia; winch were, so vur.y like • the - Jewish mmcha-cakes.

, Whenever..a martyr's- birthday fea'st was kept—which feast -was,- curionsh', the anuivcrsary.of his-death-day in the' early wafer cakes were made. Thus thccakOs became a feature of -iiianyfeasts: Whe.'i Christ's birthday feast is-kept at Christ'-" mas, it will ],c seen thaf-tlie Yule ca'ke" has deep significance. - ■ ■■■■ ■■'- It has so much significance that a piece ought never to he refused when 1 offered to -a guest. Once it would have been made a cause of strong offence to refuse the little Yule wafer, on account 1 of the refusal implying the rejection of the advances made in goodwill on the part of the giver. ( The Yule buns of the Tudors and the Stuarts were very popular. They always meant that good fortune and success were wished to those who gave. In wealthy houses they were compounded in heaps in the still-rooms, and huge baskets of them stood in the halls on Yule mornings to be given away. Little by little their substance grew larger and richer. More and more compounds were mixed in the buns, until at last the Yule cake grew to the respectable size we know so well. The Faxons called the Christmas cake the Y'ule dough. It was not a rich compound, but was believed to be lucky. In France to this day the (iateau Noel is a luck-symbol. A piece kept for a year will ward off evil spirits. In proof of its mystic properties the fact that it never gets mouldy is cited. This is really on account of the richness of the cake.

Many French Yule cakes arc known as Cornabeaux. They are shaped like a new moon or like a horn of plenty. To give one is to bestow a very tangible token of goodwill on the receiver. The good wishes implied are of the most copious when the cornableax is the shape given. St. Albans makes her l'op-Ladies still. They are the old Tudor Yule cakes, the flat Christmas cakes shaped like a woman. Her eyes are currants and her nose the same. Sometimes she carries a child in her arms. The double figures are curious. They represent the Virgin and Child. In parts of Yorkshire the Yule cake was a gingerbread figure. Tin, rich sugar-coated cake sent out by confectioners at Christmas every year have evolved from the wafer, 'through th? him and tlat figure into the original triumph of culinary art we know and delight iu.

PLUM PUDDINGS AND MINCE-PIES. The pudding was originally only a soup. It was first tlie liquid' in which the much-prized boar's head was boiled. The solid ball of rich, sweet substance, full of currants, candies, raisins, *nd other delectable .stuffs has evolved from a less substantial beginning than has the Christmas plum-cake. This boar's head was essentially a dish for Yule-feast. It was the emblem of the Hoar, (iullinbrasti, the carrier of tlio sun-god's chariot across the'. firmament. The idea of the boar's'head came from Scandinavia to the early Saxons, and it was included in the Yule feas.ls always. The broth in which it was boiled was very rich. It was a savoury. As the dish of boar's flesh was savoury enough, the' change of taste was effected by sweetening the broth with honey.

When the,-broth cooled it formed a jelly. In Tudor times this gelid substance, which always turned out solid, having a shape -of the dish that contained its liquid, was given the addition of plums. As plum-broth it came on the Christmas tables for years. Cradually, meal, fruits, and other things were added until the solid pudding, innocent altogether Of boar's head broth, came into being. The lights that sparkle all over the' pudding when the brandy poured on i! is lit, are symbolical of Prey's- light when lie turns his charot at Yule-tidr Taken as a symbol tlu lighting of the pudding is interesting The first cut- in-.the pudding was always an old joke-at the Christmas tabic. The person who has the first cut, of course, asks for- none of the dainty, since the second cut is the one that carves the first slice out. The - Iwugiht puddings look black and rich. I Their blackness -is, however, often the result-of."doctor" or burnt snga>' skilfully added, not (he velvet darkness that results from richness and long boiling, as'intlie home-made pudding. They do not contain the tlirecpennybit, the ring, or the silver thimble,'- so I eagerly looked for by the young people at the Christmas table.

Tjhe ring is for the bride to be during I the coming year; the threepenny is for the one who is to have wealth and be very lucky; the thimble, which no one wishes to find, is for the old maid or old bachelor. Nothing brings more laughter to the Christmas board than the finding of the emblems. The mince-pies are dainty mouthfu's of puff-pasta and rich minced stuff made chiefly of apples, currants, raisins, and peels, with a little suet to represent the meat. Once they were real, niinced-meat pies. Only a century ago the. best lean meat was used as an ingredient. In old recipes (many of them excellent) the lean, raw beef has still to be chopped and mixed with the sweetstuffs. ft is unlucky to refuse one. Each mince-pie eaten means a month of good fortune to come. So everybody tries to eat twelve gift pies at Yule-tide to ensure twelve lucky months.