Christmas: My favourite season

CHRISTMAS fruit cake is made in homes throughout the Caribbean but, in my opinion, our Trinidad Christmas black cake is the “greatest”.

Among Trinis there is friendly rivalry for the title of best fruit cake, best pastelles, and best ponche de cr?me. Like parang, the pastelle was introduced to Trinidad by the “cocoa panyols” who arrived from Venezuela during the 19th century to work on cocoa estates.

Our Trinidad-style pastelle is filled with cooked minced beef, pork, chicken, raisins, capers and olives enclosed in a thin layer of cornmeal dough. The Venezuelan hallaca is much larger with a thicker dough enclosing the meats, raisins, capers, olives, pimentos, potato and hard-boiled egg. Wrapped in banana leaves, the dough with the enclosed meats is steamed.

There is no pastry as delicious as a well-made pastelle. My complaint is that after hours of preparation the pastelles are all soon eaten.

In many countries Christmas dinner is served on Christmas Eve or soon after the traditional midnight Christmas Eve Mass.

On Christmas Eve night, Santa Claus arrives from the North Pole bearing gifts for the children. In Venezuela and in Honduras that function is performed by San Nicolas and in Argentina and Bolivia, Nicholas brings gifts for the children. Colombia, Peru and Paraguay it is performed by Papa Noel.

In Trinidad and Tobago, Christmas luncheon is served on Christmas Day, and the menu varies according to the household income. In a middle income home the menu may be a selection from baked turkey, baked ham, baked pork leg, stewed pigeon peas, stuffing, chicken salad, potato salad, macaroni and cheese pie, cole slaw, and pastelles.

Before household refrigerators became available, the ham was a smoked pork leg or shoulder encased in a tar jacket which was removed and the ham boiled in what was called a “pitch-oil tin” (really a cooking oil tin) over a wood-burning fire in the backyard.

Dessert may be from a selection of black cake, sponge cake, cr?me caramel, fruit cocktail, or ice cream.

The drinks selection may be red and white wines, whisky, rum, gin, vodka, beer, ponche de cr?me, home-made cr?me de menthe and, depending on the household income, champagne or sparkling wine. Vermouth and anisette have disappeared from the list of drinks but sorrel and ginger beer continue to be available.

A selection of chocolates, nuts, dates, figs and Danish cookies may be available.

In some country areas of TT, the Christmas Day menu may include wild meat. In Puerto Rico and for Filipinos, including those resident in TT, the centrepiece of the Noche Buena is lechon, or roasted pig. In Germany as in some other European countries it is roasted goose. Salted fish or bacalhau is a traditional Christmas dish in Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Spain and in its former colonies.

Boxing Day originated in England when the “alms boxes” containing donations to the poor were opened in churches and the contents distributed. In Trinidad, Boxing Day was a family day when family members travelled from various parts of Trinidad to picnic together at the Queen’s Park Savannah. It was also the biggest horse racing day on the calendar, before its relocation to Santa Rosa Park.

After Christmas the turkey bones are used in a sancoche (traditional soup) with the ham bone often retained for use in the pigeon peas soup on Carnival Monday.

Do have a Merry Christmas of love, h a p p i n e s s and family to