The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-12-22
Ali Nations Christmas.

New York World The belief in good
cheer on Christmas day is as firmly
rooted as ever. Each Christian nation
has lis own way of celebrating Christ
mas. and there is a marked difference
I'm the dishes eaten on that festival &C.
casion by different people.
RUSSIA.
On Christmas day the Russians ad-
here TO their strictly national dishes.
In the morning their breakfast consists
of boursch, the national soup or broth,
composed of the fermented juice of beet
root, sour cream, boiled cabbage and
meat bullion. This extraordinary mix
ture tastes much better than it reads,
and after the quantity necessary to ap-
peaSe the appetite is consumed in the
morning an enormous punch bowl IS
filed with the soup and stands upon a
side table during the day. In all well
regulated Russian households there is
also found upon the same table roast
ed pig, dressed with boiled buckwheat,
or kasche, as it is called, mingled with
the liver, heart and other edible adj
juncts of the animal. This pig is es-
pecially raised and killed for Christmas
day.
1t weighs never more than seven or
eight pounds.
Accompanying these there is the pasca
a mixture of white cheese, cream, butter
sugar and raisins, which are placed to-
gether in a wooden bowl and allowed
to stand for twenty-fOur hours. There
is also the koulische, a cake plentifully
filled with raisins, and then, as little
side dish, are the Vari-cOlOred eggs that
all good Russians are expected to eat
with salt that has been purified by
roasting The evening meal is com
posed Of great dishes of sausage and
immense joints Of roasted veal, which,
together with the black bread peculiar
TO the country, is eagerly devoured and
washed down with plentiful Hbations
of koumisS and vodka.
FRANCE.
Liver pudding, we'll truff1ed and plen-
tifuIly seasoned with garlic, together
with the national 'poulet," are seen on
every Christmas table, accompanied,
especially in the south, by the celebrat-
ed Languedoc stew, which is composed,
according to NJ. Colombo, Of the fol-
lowing materials:
Take beef, lean bacon, a Glove Of gar
lie, a small onion in which is inserted
one Glove, the third of a quart of wine,
a small glass Of cognac and some salt.
Cut the beef ito square pieces, very
small, and put the whole into a small
earthen pot, the bottom Of which is
lined with thin slices Of bacon. Cover
the pot with thick paper closed at the
edges by flour paste made with cold
water, put a plate over all and let it
simmer for six hours.
GERMANY.
There is a picture, more or less well
known, from the brush of a humorous
and perhaps patriotic German painter
that very accurately describes the pre-
vailing impression concerning the Ger
man palate. The picture in question
represents a charming young German
girl picking cabbage from a Christmas
tree, and beneath the painting an in
scription which, being freely translat-
ed, means that Germany offers won
derful kitchen to the contemplation of
civilization. This national taste for
cabbage is carried into their Christmas
dinner. That meal consists of boiled
pork and sauerkraut, sausages, black
buildings, goose stuffed with chestnuts
cheese cakes and baked apples, beef
with sour sauce, smoked goose and po-
tatoes, washed down with beer.
HUNGARY.
GoUlasch is the national dish of Hun
gary and consists Of meat cut into small
pieces and cooked with onions. toma-
toes and the powerful paprika, a spe-
cieS of pepper peculiar TO the country.
This dish is naturally the most attrac-
tive in the Christmas dinner, and with
ii Is fried cabbage fish soup, farina
cakes and cakes made from the poppy
seeds- Dividing the honors with the
geulaSch there will be found upon the
table roast pig invariably decorated