Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19
BY PROSPER BURANELLI.
= HRISTMAS is a day of piety
and a day OF poetry, and
Christmas is a astronomical

~ HRlSTMAS is day or piety
and a day OF poetry, and
Christmas is a astronomical
~ day also. The earth has
many lands and Christians
have many kinds of cookery. Then
let us celebrate with song and loos-
ening of belts the other ways in other
places of eating land in non-prohibi-
ton countries. drinkingJ on Christmas.
Regal England had her wild boar
roasted whole and borne aloft ma jes-
ticalIy on salver. These free United
States have their turkey, not quite so
majestic, but filing enough. There
are other dishes characteristic and
proper in their own longitudes. So
here's round, q seasonable CASTRO
nomical journey through Christendom.
The inspiration came In a small,
friendly restaurant. There the pa
with the spirit Of the approaching
feast OF the nativity. smote his portly
middle with both hands.
"On Christmas" said he. ION Christ
mas 1t is necessary to have panetoni.
Without panetoni there can be no
Christmas"
There were certain foreigners pres
ent who asked what panetoni was
One Of them, named Smith. was par
ticularly ignorant on the subject.
II cannot tell you about the pane
toni right away" responded Moneta.
You do not eat the panetoni right
away Much goes before the panetoni
1T is 80 years since l left my town
on the Lake of Como. but the Christ
mas is like yesterday. The feasting
| begins after the midnight mass on
| Christmas morning. We build great
| bonfire In the church square. We all
sit around the high flames and sing,
| and some dance. When the fire Is
| down we go home and drink white
! wine until II is time 10 go to mass
| at II o'clock. After mass everybody
| goes to his house.
| People stay at home. Even the
| tavern is empty. If a stranger is not
| invited to somebody's house he is a
| lonely man. Each family stays by
| itself and passes the day with eating
| Christmas dinner and singing. The
dinner has many things. There is
the zampone. 1t was ig-killing time
| the first week Of December. and pork
sausage. the zampone, is just ready
| at Christmas. The biggest dish is the
/ turkey, just as in this country. 1t is
! stuffed with chestnuts. Last comes
the panetoni.
They eat panetoni because they
| have panetoni. The baker of the
town makes presents to the families,
and the presents are panetoni. 1t is
an old tradition. They say that 800
years ago a certain baker of Milan
wanted 10 make a Christmas present
! to noble patron. He invented
| panetoni. 1t is a sweetened bread.
! 1t is made of ordinary bread dough
with eggs, sugar and raisins. 1t is
| beautiful with wine. That is what
| it is for, to go with the wine that
comes after dinner We drink wine
all year round in my province but
on Christmas we have panetoni with
the wine
But what about the other ma
tions?" said I. What especial Christ
mas dishes have they"
| I'm Washington" cried the padrone
con grande espressione. as they say in
music. they have all the nations. We
will take a taxi and find out
He took us to Spain, or rather to
his friends place, where there was an
Asturian named Jose Fernandez
I'm my country" said Fernandez,
which Is in the northern part of
Spain, what you have for dinner on
| Christmas depends on how much
money you've got. Well-to-do people
will most likely have sucking pig.
= but In the country it In oocido. That