Christmas Day
For the second year in a row, we had a rather quiet and relaxing Christmas. We didn’t travel anywhere—not to Ontario—and not even into Halifax. In fact, we only left the house to go for a walk along the dykes in Wolfville. It was our first Christmas in our new house, and it was exactly what we needed. A balm for the soul, as Nigella Lawson would say.
As much as I love trying something new, and going against the grain, I am also a lover of holidays steeped in tradition. We opted for a prime rib roast for Christmas dinner, as turkey is just an everyday roast chicken in my opinion. But where tradition must be followed is the Best of Bridge ‘Christmas Morning Wife Saver’, which we have lovingly rebranded as ‘Christmas Morning Spouse Saver’, as ‘Husband Saver’ just doesn’t have the right ring to it.
Another place I deviated from tradition was with dessert. Instead of following my mother’s lead with a delectable and traditional English Trifle, I opted for another English dessert of ‘Holiday Hot Cake with Eggnog Cream’. It was absolutely delicious, but I think I will be leaning back into that specific tradition going forward. I missed my Christmas trifle!
‘Christmas Morning Spouse Saver’ with blueberries and blackberries for breakfast.
Although roast beef for Christmas was different for us, my mother’s classic Dijon mustard and garlic crust added to a sense of tradition that I think is so important to the holidays that we celebrate. I think that traditions bring us closer to those we love, even when we are not physically together. And they allow us to instil meaning into the sometimes mundane. Which is to say that, a dinner is a dinner is a dinner. But a dinner steeped in tradition and ritual is something else entirely.
I think that the unique power of tradition, is that it can be created whenever, wherever, by whomever! You get to decide was is tradition to you. And the fun part is, you can create a new tradition whenever you want! All you have to do is keep it alive.
Everything ready to go. The Prime Rib sits on a bed of onion and garlic, has been coated in Dijon mustard and chopped garlic.
Prime rib, mashed potatoes, citrus roasted carrots, boiled brussels, an assortment of pickles, and blue cheese gravy.
Henceforth, fresh dill is a required of all mashed potatoes!
Holiday Hot Cake with Eggnog Cream.
With all that being said, I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas this year—or whatever wonderful holiday you celebrate. I hope it was filled with love, joy, relaxation, and tradition! And I encourage you to start a new tradition today, or whenever the time is right!
