Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, first published in 1843, continues to be a well-known book today. Written by Dickens to inspire Londoners to be more generous with the less fortunate people around them, it was a loosely disguised autobiography. Dickens and his family were the inspiration for the family of Bob Crachit.
Before The Christmas Carol became the most iconic story of Christmas after the one in the gospel of Luke, England was suffering a dark, cold period in its history. The holiday of Christmas was largely a forgotten affair - caused by the remnants of Puritanism, the huge changes of the Industrial Revolution and the overwhelming gap between the very poor and the very rich. At that time Christmas was a holiday celebrated for 12 days from Christmas Day until Epiphany (the remembrance of the Wise Men's visit) on Jan. 6.
At the time, Dickens was having professional problems. He desperately needed a success to reestablish his stature and fortune. He particularly wanted to encourage more compassion to the very poor who lived a hardscrabble life in London. After deciding to write A Christmas Carol, he spent several weeks walking the labyrinth streets in the poorest sections of the city, recording stories of the inhabitants. As he walked, he remembered his youth in great clarity. With this intensity of purpose, he completed the novella in just six weeks.
The story of Ebenezer Scrooge, his Ghosts of Christmas, Bob Crachit and Tiny Tim created a great stir in London. People all over the city were talking about this new kind of holiday celebration. Dickens became known as the man who reinvented Christmas.
In 1843, Bob Crachit and the families he represents lived an incredibly difficult life. His family of eight resided in a house of just four small rooms. The only heat came from a small fireplace. Living in the heart of London, there was no nearby wood to gather firewood or land to raise vegetables. Everything they needed had to be bought. Having an ill child like Tiny Tim further strained the small sum brought home by Bob Crachit.
In that day the standard Christmas dinner called for a goose as the centerpiece of the menu. To have a goose on the table for Christmas they would have joined a butcher shop subscription. They would make a small payment weekly through the year just to assure their goose. At the proper time, the butcher would cook the goose in his large oven; the family would send a member to fetch the goose at dinnertime. The gift of the "prize turkey" hanging in the center of the butcher's window, not a goose, to the Crachit family, showed to the readers of the day that Scrooge wanted to give the very best gift - a Christmas dinner which the family could never have afforded. This act of a miser transformed into a man of compassion in a work of fiction evolved into a significant social change in England. After A Christmas Carol, turkey moved into center stage on the Christmas table.
The remainder of the Christmas menu at the Crachit's was simply applesauce, potatoes and gravy. The abundance on American tables today would have amazed citizens of the mid-19th century.
One thing common now on American tables is the presence of the cranberry. This truly North American native fruit is an expected side dish with holiday turkeys in our day.
I haven't cooked enough geese to feel comfortable telling anyone directions in preparation.
However, I am entirely confident in sharing with you the best cranberry recipe I've ever had. This recipe comes from generations back in a friend's family. It never fails to please.
Cranberry Relish
• 1 pound of fresh cranberries, washed
• 4 Red Delicious apples, cored, but not peeled
• 1 8 oz. package Strawberry Jell-o
• 3/4 - 1 -1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup chopped pecans
In a food processor, coarsely chop the cranberries. Remove to a serving bowl. Next, coarsely chop the apples. Remove to bowl with the apples.
Combine the Jell-o and 3/4 cup of sugar. Stir well to dissolve the Jell-o. Combine with the cranberries and apples. Taste to see if the mixture is sweet enough. If not, dissolve more sugar in small amount of hot water and add. Stir in the nuts just before serving. n
Fran Ginn is former chef/owner of The Back Door Café, who retired after 31 years in the food industry to be a grandmother. She can be contacted at fran@franginn.com.
