Home Makers' Column

White Ribbon, Volume 18, Issue 11, 1 December 1946, Page 8

Home Makers' Column

By ••LYXETTE.”

CHRISTMAS. The Boer’* Head Carol. The Boar’s head in hand bear I, Bedecked with hays and rosemary, And I pray you, my masters, be merry, Quot estis in convivio. Chorus, Caput apri defero, Reddens laudes domino. The Boar’s head, as I understand. Is the bravest dish in all the land, When thus bedecked with a gay garland, Let us Servire Let us Servire Cantico. Chorus. Our steward hath provided this In honour of the King of Bliss, Which on this day to be served is, In regimen a atrio. Chorus This centuries-old carol was sung as the Boar’s head was carried with great pomp into the Feudal Hall to be the first dish on Christmas Day. An orange or apple was in the mouth, and rosemary or bav leaves were set round it. The hall was decorated with holly and mistletoe while on the hearth burned the huge Yule Log, or Christmas Block, which had been placed there after

Devotions on Christmas Eve. Mince pies and Christmas puddings were also indispensable items in the day’s menu. In those days, the festive season began at Hallowe’en (October 31st), and continued till Candlemas Day, (February 2nd). At Court, and in the homes of the wealthy, one of the retainers was appointed “Lord of Misrule,” to superintend the revels, Such as music, conjuring, dancing, bobbing for apples or nuts, “Blind Man’s Buff,” and other games. In Scotland, the Master of Ceremonies was named the “Abbot of Unreason,” but bis office wa* abolished by Act of Parliament in 1555, and in England too, the custom died out in response to the preaching of early Christian leaders, who felt that too much attention was given to the festivity rather than to the solemnity of the anniversary of the Saviour's birth. New Zealand Christmas (arc differs considerably from that of the English tradition. Happy is the man who can produce green peas from his own garden in time for Christmas dinner, which may be a family affair, complete with “groaning board,” which is just as likely to be a picnic meal by ri\er, lake, or sea. Though clinging to some of the traditional food items, we substitute lighter summer foods in many cases.