Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1897-12-21
CHRISTMAS FEASTS.
OLD TIME o.nNeH IS OF AMAZING PRO-
PORTIONS.


Cerernosy AZ Asc,.st "".r' ~ the
Poor.
II il almost impossible Ia say when
the cu,tom lrgam of celebrating Christ
mas with sunlptuous feast Il Is GER
tain. iuwevcr. that the observance has
never laps.d since English history be-
ran Whistlecraft. . writer who delved
deeply among the traditions and records
Of the rcigr Of King Arthur of the
Round Table. describes Oh. Christmas
dinner VI that d..y in verse:
They -Tvcd up Saltnnn wu,-''n AMI wild
bOsrs
By hundreds ana by dos'fn~ md by s'ores,
Hug>iI,a,ls of Lal-y. kiii-rkins ~ mustard.
Mut,ons and frtie,i lsev,s and bacon swine.
Hcrons and b,trns p.acsck swans aud bus
tnrd.
Teal unllnr,i pig,-,os. widgcons and. IN Tine,
Plum puddinss pancakes nppi. pies aud cu-
taid
And th.rcwithai they drank .ooi Gs,con wins"
With mead md ale and cider ID our own,
For porter. punch and ncgus were not known
This bill Of fare Is doubtless moro
pNtiC Wv ~ '''N '''-
out OF the way One notable omission
is that Il the wassail bowl. for wnssail,
though it v - u drink Of tho ancient
Druids of tire third century and prob
ably earlier. was for many hundl d
years favorite British drink and came
to be u distinctive feature OF Christmas
feasts IL was first made of ale. or what
was then considered ale. swcetened with
something that did duty for tl,c more
modern sugar Just what that WIS Is
today unknown. but it WAS sweet Then
there was toast. and thero were roasted
crabs. put kissing hot into the bowl
queer drink. but such ~ Il was II was
liked
As time went by the recipe was va
ried ill. perhaps 1000 years or 80
later the wussail bowl was filled with
wine. well warmed and spicSi, with
toasted bread and roasted apples IL
wine were not obtainablc. ale WAS used.
but the apples were deemed indispcnsa-
bio and really seem ~ have been Tn
Improvement on crabs Doubtless it
was the white pulp Of the apples that
gave wassail its nickname Of lambs 8
wool. aud IL was therefore nn anach'
ronism that crcpt into the account of
King Arthur's feast when the boy with
the mantle cast spell over the table,
for il Is told that on that occasion only
one knight found his sword sha =
, enough TO carve the boar's head or has
hand steady enough To lift the lamb 9
/ wool without spilling It
IL 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 tnr.
key was not taken to England from
the east till the sixteenth century.
But II Arthur's feast seems gargan'
tuan IL was u frugal repast compared
with those that came later Gervase
Markham describes q moderate din
ner" Of about A. D. 1900 that would
answer for Christmas in the following
amazing way:
The first course should consist Of 10
full dishes-that is. dishes Of meat that
are Of substance and not empty or for
show-as thus. for example: First. u
shield Of braun with mustard; second
", boyld capon; thirdly. boyl d
piece Of beef; fourthly. chine OF bc 4
rosted: filthy. a meats tongue rosted;
Mxthly. o pig rosted; seventhly. chew
t.t. .,nkthtx. rnsfad.
ninthly. swan rosted; tenthly, u tur-
KEY rosted: the eleventh, u haunch Of
venison rosted; the twelfth, pasty OF
venison: the thirteenth, q kid with
pudding in the belly; the fourteenth.
an olive-pye; the fifteenth. couple Of
capons; the sixteenth. q custard OF dow.
sets. Now. TO these full dishes may be
added sallets fricases. quelque chooses
and devised paste, as many dishes more,
which make the full service no less
than two and thirty dishes, which is as
much as can conveniently stand on one
table and in one mess And after this
manner you may proportion both your
second and third courses, holding full
ness OH one half Of the dishes and show
in the other. which will be both frugal
in the splendour, contentment to the
guest and much pleasure aud delight to
the beholder.
Surely q moderate dinner" like that
would make lord mayors banquet
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 he
could afford it. for Pepys records din
ner given to the poor by Sir George
Downing one Christmas at which moth
ing was served but beef. porridge, pud-
ding and pork. II may have been better
than the recipients usually had for
everyday fare. but they voted II mean
entertainment for Christmas
The boar's head, as Is well known,
was for hundreds Of years the piece de
resistance Of every well regulated Brit.
ish Christmas feast, and 1t has been
held by some writer's that it became the
favorite because Of general desire TO
protest against the Jewish prohibition
Of pork A more probable reason Is that
the boar was the fiercest Of all the wild
beasts Of the country, and killing him
was the highest achievement Of the
huntsman. Then. again. his head is
very good to eat.
Whatever the reason. the great dish
was served with great pomp II was
served in style A forgotten poet wrote:
| II you would end up the brawne,s head.
Sweet rosemary and bays around u spread
| BIS fuaming iusks LET some large pippin grace.
| Or midst thoss laundering SPEARS Hn orange
sauce. like himself offensive to his foes.
| The rugulsh mustard dangerous TO the nose.
| sack and the well spiced hippocras, the wine
| wassaiI the bowl with ancient ribands fne.
Porridge with plums aud turkeys with the
chine
The mere dressing Of the dish did not
suffice. however The ceremony Of
bringing il into the banquet hall OF q
great house was most imposing. fog j.
wus not brought without u procession.
First :ame u runner In hOrseman' q
amt with boar spear In his hand.
Then huntsman in green with q naked
and blopdy sword. Then two pages IN
sarcenet, each with mess of mustard,
aud last the bearer himself, chosen Tor
his sise and strength, proudly holding
the huge silver platter on which the
bears h,s,d lay.
such war the plainest procession that
uttered. always with music, for Q
Christmas carol was always sung. What
the n,agnificence Of the wealthiest houses
WAS may bo imagined from the fact thai
king Henry II. having caused his son tc
b. crowned during his own lifetime,