Childhood Christmas Holiday Traditions

Food musts in 70s and 80s South Africa.

I haven’t lived in South Africa for almost twenty years but have gone back to visit my folks still living there every three or four years.

Over the last two decades — by my recollection which is not saying much — I have celebrated Christmas in South Africa four times. With their adult children both living abroad and my grandparents and family members gone, Christmas food is slightly different these days.

So, let’s jump in Vanessa’s famous way-back machine and see what I ate every Christmas as a child.

Bags of nuts in their shells

One of the most important additions to the Brown family Christmas were little mesh bags of nuts still in their shells. Walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, and hazelnuts all reported for duty in the mesh bags that lined grocery store shelves. We had only one nutcracker in the house — now every house would have one for each member, but back then we had to wait our turn to use it.

“Yes grandma,” I hear you all chime.

We would painstakingly crack, crack, crack around the nuts to release the treasured taste contained within, awaiting the deliciousness that only nuts can bring, savouring the delicacies that were too expensive to have year-round. The Brazil nuts were the most difficult to crack and require the hard shell to be moved around to different angles to get just the right position to hear that satisfying crack.

That sound signalled the beginning of the Christmas season.

*As I don’t have a picture of the actual product, my fake nutcracker and already cracked nuts — courtesy of my Canadian grocery store — will have to suffice.

Mince Pies

As far as I’m concerned these are one of the most revolting foods in history. Mince pies literally make me vomit — I kid you not. I do not know why they should as I’m not allergic to any of the ingredients — none of which is actual beef mince despite the name — but bring them together and my stomach rebels.

Mince pies are a very traditional British Christmas treat and are little individual pastry shells filled with “mincemeat” consisting of raisins, currants, candied citrus peels, suet — raw, hard fat found around cow or sheep kidneys (this may very well be the culprit for my physical reactions) — sugar, nutmeg, and a range of spices and citrus zest to suit the maker’s taste.

Many people love them including my family. I’m the odd one out who can’t keep them down.

Christmas Pudding

Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages, please forgive me this one transgression but as much as I tried to find someone to photograph one for me, plus scouring the supermarket here in Canada, I just couldn’t swing it, so WikiCommons it has to be!

This is another of the “revolting” foods that I am unable to stomach. And again, I’m the odd one out whilst the rest of the family and guests gobble up the warmed dessert ladled over with custard and sometimes brandy.

Christmas pudding has much the same ingredients as mince pies which may account for my utter distaste with that awful suet being added. It is far denser, doesn’t have a pie crust shell, and contains eggs and flour as well.

The dome-shaped dessert is warmed, cut into slices, and ladled with custard.

When I say dense I mean dense. They make good doorstoppers, ‘nuf said!

Quality Street

This must be an international thing as I took this photo in the Christmas treat section in my local Walmart in Canada. It seems that Nestlé has once again vested the general public to reach into their pockets over the holiday season.

A long-standing British tradition, as a child these were a must. They sat quietly in dishes on freshly laid dining tables and side tables around the house. As I was a sugar addict — you wouldn’t believe how bad even if I told you — my mother had to restrict me to one or two at a time.

The toffee finger and hazelnut in caramel were my kryptonite and I dove in to find the yellow or purple-wrapped treats as soon as a new box was opened.

Lebkuchen

Whilst lebkuchen are not a traditional South African Christmas goodie, they were a part of my family’s tradition after being introduced to them through the hordes of German exchange students that made their way to our shores.

My father was very active in both Rotary and Rotary Youth Exchange during my childhood and it only took one morsel of the sugary gingerbread cookies covered in white icing for me to be hooked.

I wrote about lebkuchen on my travels through Germany this year.

Glühwein

Glühwein is better known as spiced mulled wine in English-speaking countries, but as a child I knew it as glühwein — another Christmas treat bestowed upon us by our German exchange students.

Despite not really becoming an annual part of our family Christmas traditions, mainly due to the fact that South Africa is hot at Christmas and champagne was far more firmly established, I’ve made this a Christmas tradition now that I live in a colder climate.

My love affair with glühwein started when I lived in Australia and would make it for some “Christmas in July” functions which Australians love and throw every year. It gives them a chance to indulge in some wintery Christmas fun and frivolities.

Cinnamon, heaps of sugar, some cloves, an orange, water, and a bottle of wine are in my glühwein recipe, and it is beyond delish!

Now that I live in Canada, I make it once or twice a year around Christmas. In fact, this year I’ve been invited to a Christmas dinner and I’ll be bringing… you guessed it glühwein!

Advent calendars

I’m going to end with Advent calendars. Whilst this was never a food item in my childhood, it has become one in my adulthood. The Reese’s calendar above was my gift to myself this year.

Advent calendars, for those of you who may not know, are beautifully decorated countdowns to Christmas. They begin on December 1st and end on the 24th. Every day you open the next numbered door to see the beauty of the illustrations within.

My parents bought one for us every year and we took turns opening up each door, fighting as to who would get to open the last one on the 24th!

Of course, here in North America you can buy Advent calendars that offer up sweet treats when the door is opened.

Thank you for strolling with me down memory lane — I seem to be doing a lot of that lately.

I’ll leave you with a Christmas lyric that I feel is quite pertinent for this article as well as the entire holiday season, kind courtesy of Gloria Estefan.

Don’t want tinsel, don’t want bows Don’t want Rudolph’s shiny nose I’m gonna eat for Christmas

Please feel free to spend Christmas with me in both hemispheres by perusing the article below.