The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1897-12-16
CHRISTMAS FEASTS.
OLD TIME DINNERS OF AMAZING PRO
PORTIONS.


deeply among the traditions and records
of the reign of King Arthur of the
Round Table, describes the Christmas
dinner of that day in verse;
They served up salmon. venison and wild
boars
By hundreds and by dozens and by scores,
Hogsheads of honey kilderkins of mustard,
Muttons and fatted beeves and bacon swine,
Herons and bitterns. peacock swans and bus
tard,
Teal, mallard, pigeons, widgeons and, in fine
Plum buildings pancakes apple pies and Gus
tard.
And therewithal they drank good Gascon wire.
With mead and ale and cider of our own,
For porter. punch and negus were not known
This bill of fare is doubtless more
poetic than accurate. yet it is not far
out of the way One notable omission
is that of the wassail bowl, for wassail,
though it was a drink of the ancient
Druids of the third century and prob
ably earlier, was for many hundred
years favorite British drink and came
to be distinctive feature of Christmas
feasts. 1t was first made of ale, or what
was then considered ale, sweetened with
something that did duty for the more
modern sugar Just what that was is
today unknown, but it was sweet. Then
there was toast. and there were roasted
crabs put kissing hot into the bowl-a
queer drink, but such as it was it was
liked
AS time went by the recipe was va
ried till, perhaps 1000 years or so
later the wassail bowl was filled with
wine, we'll warmed and spiced, with
toasted bread and roasted apples. II
wine were not obtainable, ale was used,
but the apples were deemed indispensa-
BILE and really seem to have been an
Improvement on crabs. Doubtless it
was the white pulp Of the apples that
gave wassail it's nickname Of 'lamb's
wool, and it was therefore an anach-
ronism that crept into the account Of
King Arthur's feast when the boy with
the mantle cast a spell over the table,
for it is told that on that occasion only
one knight found his sword sharp
enough to carve the boar's head or his
hand steady enough to lift the lamb
wool without splitting it.
1t will be noticed that King Arthur
had neither turkeys nor geese, though
both of them are now distinctive fea-
lures of the Christmas feast The tur-
key was not taken to England from
the east till the sixteenth century, and,
though the goose was known before, his
gastronomic value seems not to have
been discovered.
But if Arthur's feast seems gargan-
tuan it was frugal repast compared
with those that came later. Gervase
Markham describes a moderate din
ner'' of about A. D. 1900 that would
answer for Christmas in the following
amazing way
''The first course should consist of 1G
full dishes-that is, dishes of meat that
show-as thus, for example: First, a
shield of braun with mustard; second.
ly, a boyl'd capon; thirdly, a boyl' d
piece of beef; fourthly, chine Of beef
rosted; filthy, heats tongue rosted
sixthly, pig rosted; seventhly, chew
cts baked; eighthly, goose rosted
ninthly, swan rosted; tenthly, a tur.
key rosted; the eleventh, a haunch OF
venison rested; the twelfth, pasty Of
pudding in the belly; the fourteenth,
an olive-pye; the fifteenth, couple Of
capons; the sixteenth, custard or dow
sets. Now, to these full dishes may bt
added sallets fricases, quelque chose!
and devised paste, as many dishes more
which make the full service no les:
than two and thirty dishes, which is a:
much as can conveniently stand on ont
table and in one mess And after thi
manner you may proportion both you:
second and third courses, holding full
1 ness on one half of the dishes and show
in the other, which will be both fruga
in the splendour, contentment to thu
guest and much pleasure and delight tt
the beholder'
Surely moderate dinner like tina
would make lord mayors banque
seem stingy, yet there is ample evidence
that such feasts were not uncommon
''in that elder day" Not every one
however, set such table, even when b.
could afford it, for Pepys records din
.ner given to the poor by Sir Georg
Downing one Christmas at which moth
ing was served but beef, porridge, pud
ding and pork 1t may have been bette
than the recipients usually had TO
everyday fare, but they voted it meal
entertainment for Christmas.
The boar's head, as is we'll known
was for hundreds Of years the piece d.
resistance of every well regulated Brit
ish Christmas feast, and it has beef
held by some writer's that it became tn
favorite because Of general desire t.
protest against the Jewish prohibition
of pork A more probable reason is tina
the boar was the fiercest Of all the wilt
beasts of the country, and killing hin
was the highest achievement Of tn
huntsman. Then, again. his head
very good to eat.
Whatever the reason, the great dis