CarolCooks2…Christmas Trivia, Traditions and Devils on Horseback…

Welcome it’s time for Christmas Traditions and treats .. where I bring out some old favourites and add a few new bits of trivia…plus a version of Silent Night…

Did you know???

Did you know that Tinsel was invented in 1610 in Germany and was once made of real silver? Yes, real silver. Can you imagine how much that would cost to buy? Thank goodness I don’t use the stuff to decorate my Christmas tree anymore. 🎄

tinsel christmas-3836868_640

Tinsel, sometimes called icicles or lametta, was first used in the early 1600s in Germany. Back then, it was made of thin strips of real silver. These strips supposedly hung better on branches than modern tinsel and looked great reflecting the light of the candles that were fastened there. The problem with silver, though, was that it tarnishes quickly, so the tinsel’s sheen might not last until Christmas day.

We now come to another version of Silent Night…Yes, December will be a bonanza of the many versions of Silent Night which is one of my favourite Carol’s some versions will be traditional and some will not!

Introducing “The Queen of Gospel”…Mahalia Jackson.

What a wonderful, powerful powerful voice…

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Christmas Jumper Corner:

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Christmas Jumper Corner:

Two of these little dogs posing in their Christmas finery belong to Tori…Little Cubby’s mistress  Tori writes some beautiful children’s books and Franck ( who never smiles) belongs to my son …Now Franck has a wardrobe many of us girls would envy a coat for every occasion but I haven’t seen him wear any with a smile…Yet!

Franckk wearing his Christmas coat      Kero in Xmas bandanna 01122005   Kero dressed as Santa Pawz 0112200502

 

Thank you to Franck, Cubby and Keto who make excellent models for showing us your Christmas finery …Applause xx

Come on…Someone must have a picture??? We had two cute dogs (from last )year..just to kick the Christmas Jumper Corner off… someone must have a funny/ugly Christmas jumper/socks/hats/pants?

So come on let’s have your Christmas finery be it human or animal…xx

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Did you know? There are 12 courses in the traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve supper, each of them dedicated to one of Christ’s apostles.

 

Kivak is also known as Mutak or Xmas Catap is an unusual Christmas treat but not if you have a delicate tummy or are fainthearted…Made from dead fermented birds, preserved in hollowed-out Seals body for a minimum of 3 months and often much longer. They taste like very mature cheese so I am told…

http://www.foodista.com/blog/2012/02/15/stinky-foods-10-weird-facts-about-kiviak

Did you know? Most people think Japanese cuisine is relatively healthy and think seafood and rice. So it may come as a surprise to know that family Christmas tradition in Japan includes eating their big holiday meal at fast-food giant KFC!

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 Round glass Christmas ornaments were inspired by the shape of apples. Apples were the original Christmas ornaments, put on the tree to symbolize the Garden of Eden.

christmas-bauble-15738_640

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I can’t think of anything that bacon doesn’t go with can you? One of our Christmas favourites and it has even tempted the man who hates dates but his love of cheese and bacon has overridden that and he had to admit that ” They are ok”..Really? How many have you eaten?

Although I did call them by their given name and didn’t just say dates wrapped in bacon and cheese…I like to vary the cheese… you can use cream cheese, cheddar or even a piece of blue cheese which is my favourite.

Devils on Horseback:

devils on horseback

  • 1 pack of pitted dates
  • 1/2 pack of regular (not thick cut) bacon, sliced into 1/4’s
  • 4 ounces of cheese…

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Let’s Cook!

Cut date halfway through and open them up.  Put a  teaspoon size piece of cheese inside. Wrap a 1/4 slice of bacon around the outside.

Secure each one with a toothpick or put five or six on a skewer. Place on a rack above a foil-lined pan to catch the drippings.

Bake for about 15 minutes, turn dates over and bake for another 10 minutes or so until bacon is crisp and dates are slightly caramelised.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

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One of my favourite Christmas Traditions has to be the one that many people in Iceland uphold, people will often exchange books on Christmas Eve, then spend the rest of the night reading them and eating chocolate…How good is that? x

The tradition is part of a season called Jolabokaflod, or “The Christmas Book Flood.” As a result, Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country selling most of them between September and November.

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Thank you for joining me today…as always I look forward to your comments and don’t forget to send me your Chrismas jumper or other Christmas Photos and you will get a mention of course the funnier the better but cute is good as well…Have a lovely day xx

46 thoughts on “CarolCooks2…Christmas Trivia, Traditions and Devils on Horseback…”

  1. dgkaye

    Wow, I would have loved to see a tree decorated with real silver! And wow, how disappointing to be able to eat Japanese food all the time and hear they run to gross KFC for Christmas LOL ❤

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  2. OIKOS™- Art, Books & more

    This “Devils on Horseback” looks like fantastic. Like Sally, i think this also would be great done here. Lets look for dates, what sometimes is a great difficulty here. You shame me, Carol! Here its the first time i heard that Germans invented lametta. Okay, we dont use it anymore. Recycling the trees would be too cumbersome. xx Michael

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  8. Jessica

    I didn’t know that about apples on the tree and the Garden of Eden. Interesting. Also, a book exchange and chocolate sound really nice! Great post. Love all the information!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Sowmya

    Interesting and fascinating to know about the holiday traditions in Japan, Iceland and Ukraine. Lovely christmas jumpers. Dogs look too cute and adorable.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Yes,there are some lovely and different traditions around the world.. Those dogs are definitely cuties.. I love the Christmas traditions.. I hope you are well and preparing some lovely food for Christmas.. X

      Liked by 1 person

      4. CarolCooks2 Post author

        Sorry Sowmya I didn’t know.. It isn’t celebrated here as its a predominately Buddhist country but I try and keep my traditions alive for us but my neighbours love the xmas puddings and cake so I always make them one.. we share our traditions as they share theirs with us which I think is lovely and how it should be x

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Sowmya

        Not at all a problem Carol. Just mentioned it since you were awaiting for Christmas menu. Here too, my neighbours share their cakes, puddings and cookies. I too share my food with them during festive occasions. Interesting and inspiring to know you keep up the traditions alive.

        Liked by 1 person

  13. D. Wallace Peach

    A fun post, Carol, except for the kivak…. ugh… I’m not surprised you haven’t tried it! Lol. And fascinating Christmas trivia – silver tinsel (imagine that polishing chore), and apples in the tree, and KFC (oh my!). And the Iceland tradition of books and chocolate, wow, those people have it figured out. 🙂 Hugs.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      They have something similar here and I have not tried it some things even I draw the line at not many but that would probably be one…I agree chocolate and books sounds an ideal way to me to spend Christmas Eve maybe I will adopt that practice…
      Yes there are certainly some cool traditions and some not so cool traditions around the world or over the years…Hugs 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

  14. beetleypete

    I remember tinsel getting everywhere, and stil finding bits of it as late as February. Glad to see the back of it.
    If I was a dog and they dressed me up in silly human outfits, I wouldn’t be smiling either! 🙂 🙂
    Best wishes, Pete. x

    Liked by 2 people

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  16. Norah

    I love that tradition of Jolabokaflod. I could easily adopt that, I think. I love Devils on Horseback too, but here we make them with prunes rather than dates, or t least my family does. I even remember the first time I tried one, which is pretty amazing, isn’t it? I was ten. Tinsel made from silver. Now that’s exclusive.

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  18. Prior...

    Carol – such a fun post and so surprised about the real silver used in Germany in 1600s.
    And I bet it looked amazing (before the fading)
    Also
    – my aunt used to use so much tinsel on her tree that it was all tinsel – she layered and layered those packs on there
    –
    But like you – we are not into tinsel
    –
    Enjoyed the other trivia too
    And dates with bacon?? Never thought of that

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you so much I am happy you enjoyed it…Ahhhh dates with bacon or anything with bacon come to that is so much better…lol…Yes I’m sure if you are a tinsel fan it did but not for me …. x

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Prior...

        Yes – bacon makes anything better (and check out Jim gaffigan skit about bacon / so good)
        And when we are super hungry and not sure what to eat – we make bacon and eggs – it is a tasty and heavy meal that satisfies

        Liked by 1 person

  19. petespringerauthor

    I like the way you think. I’ve also tried dates wrapped in bacon or cheese. Those are some adorable dogs that Tori has. I do miss our ugly sweater contests at work.

    Liked by 1 person

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