tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18909306.post113324403622473678..comments2023-11-03T04:44:13.331-04:00Comments on The Americanization of Emily: Christmas LunchViolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14141614252355533198noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18909306.post-46560276999572741882007-07-11T18:27:00.000-04:002007-07-11T18:27:00.000-04:00Hi, just wandered onto your blog and have been fin...Hi, just wandered onto your blog and have been finding it interesting reading. I'd like to reply to a lot more, but I'll let this be my introduction.<BR/><BR/>Stephen is right -- people's cultural traditions and differences will cause a difference in what's on the menu for a "traditional" Christmas. My family is of predominantly Mexican heritage, so we'll have the traditional fare from that culture handy -- corn husk tamales, filled with either shredded pork or beans (or beans & cheese for those who like cheese), rice, beans, salsa, and menudo, which is this spicy stew made with the stomach lining of cows and white hominy, and flavored with pigs' feet. Most Americanized families also serve ham and candied yams, and there's also all kinds of desserts on hand too. But I do not associate a "traditional turkey dinner" with Christmas, connecting it instead with Thanksgiving. And I consider myself just about as American as one can be.See Me Repeat Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13123056734878882520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18909306.post-61844246756612168842006-12-07T02:36:00.000-05:002006-12-07T02:36:00.000-05:00For the past few years I've had Christmas lunch wi...For the past few years I've had Christmas lunch with my husbands family. It was a bit strange for this southern girl to go from turkey, ham, cornbread dressing, rice, gravy, pecan pie, sweet potato pie and christmas cookies to the Christmas lunch of baked ziti, meatballs, Italian sausage and brociole of my husband's Italian family. But it is a nice change from having all the turkey stuff only a month before. :)cytogirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02756781525917397796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18909306.post-1133797752263126072005-12-05T10:49:00.000-05:002005-12-05T10:49:00.000-05:00This is a very interesting point -- America is a l...This is a very interesting point -- America is a land of racial and cultural diversity. Indeed the same is true of England.<BR/><BR/>Mark and I once went to a church's Christmas Dinner. The entire church consisted of West Indians and their British-born descendents. Mark was the only white face to be seen (I don't class myself as being "white"). The Christmas meal we had there was the usual fare -- turkey, roast potatoes etc, but with the added touch of jerk chicken and "rice and peas" (actually rice and kidney beans).<BR/><BR/>By the way, I <B>absolutely love</B> jerk chicken with "rice and peas".Violahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14141614252355533198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18909306.post-1133456907200864912005-12-01T12:08:00.000-05:002005-12-01T12:08:00.000-05:00The contents of the Christmas dinner in the U.S. i...The contents of the Christmas dinner in the U.S. is considerably more flexible than those of the Thanksgiving meal. In my experience, turkey is not unheard of, but a Christmas ham or a pork roast is more common because, I think, people just had turkey just the month before.<BR/><BR/>My wife's family is from Estonia, so we also feast on the traditional fare of that country, including <I>sült</I> (pork jelly) with horseradish, <I>verivorst</I> (black pudding), Matjas herring, smoked eel, etc. I suspect that Christmas for most Americans of recent immigration also tends towards the cuisine of the old country.Stephen C. Carlsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18239379955876245197noreply@blogger.com