Christmas
Chook (Oz for chicken)
Christmas celebrations in Australia
have gone through something of metamorphosis during the past fifty years
or so. When I was a child the traditional English Christmas meal was
roast chook and vegetables followed by plum pudding with custard. I
say chook, because in those days it really was a fowl and not a chicken,
unlike today when chicken is served several times a week in different
guises. The variety of ways that our supermarkets have for presenting
chicken seems to be unending; from chicken cubes on bamboo skewers covered
in some type of marinade, chicken mince, chicken breast and honey and
soy chicken wings. The housewife of today hardly needs to consult a
recipe book, let alone the old Australian Green and Gold. All the preparation
is done; the only thing left to do is the cooking. This can be left
to the man of the house, provided that he has a barbeque outside the
back door.
By contrast it was not uncommon
to eat chook only once or twice a year in the 1940's. Usually the chook
came from one's own backyard. Of course this meant a considerable amount
of furious activity the day before Christmas, and required some effort
by both the husband his wife and even the kids. The unfortunate bird
would be chosen weeks in advance of the appointed day. The day before
Christmas, accompanied by a great deal of dust and squawking, the unfortunate
bird was chased around the yard until finally caught. Its dispatch with
the aid of a sharp axe was quick, and often accompanied by little girls
crying at the sight of all the blood on the chopping block, and the
little boys wanting to play with the detached head with its sightless
eyes now staring away into nothing.
An Australian icon, the Hills rotary
clothesline supported the bird, its feet tied together with string,
while its lifeblood drained onto the grass below. The chook was next
dipped into boiling water in the laundry, ready to be plucked and cleaned
and finally held over a burning candle to clean off the last of the
pinfeathers. Altogether this was a major family activity; in fact a
part of the ritual. On Christmas Day the dressed bird was be taken from
the cool of the pantry, where it had hung covered by a clean calico
bag, to the kitchen table. There it was filled with pungent onion and
sage stuffing before being tucked into the oven of the wood stove in
the kitchen to cook for a minimum of two hours, along with potatoes
and a couple of whole onions for additional flavour.
Plum Pudding
A plum pudding would be gently simmering
on the hotplate in a large aluminium pot. The puddings were traditionally
made weeks before Christmas, using the age-old secret family recipe,
and with the help of everyone in the family to stir the huge bowl of
mixture. Finally it was wrapped in calico squares, tied with string,
hung onto the copper stick by loops of string, and cooked for a couple
of hours in the laundry copper, before being drained and hung on a line
under the front verandah to dry. They would keep for months if hung
in a cool dark place. The pudding was not complete unless each serve
hid a silver coin and was covered in hot, runny custard. It was standard
practice to complain of "being full" when once the silver
coin had been discovered. Mother would have been up for hours preparing
the vegetables and the fowl before breakfast. We would wake on Christmas
morning and be so engrossed with the opening of our gifts that we were
not really aware of the preparations taking place in the kitchen, apart
from the wonderful smell of the onion and sage stuffing that wafted
its way into the dining room where we were surrounded by wrapping paper
and toys. Mum stood over the hot stove regardless of summer temperatures
to cook this once-a-year meal, and spent inordinate amounts of time
cleaning up afterwards. After all it was tradition, and we loved it.
Into the
cultural mix
In the 1950's Immigrants brought
their own European Christmas Traditions to Australia. In the next twenty
years people arrived as migrants from many other parts of the globe
including Asia. An influx of other cultures has forced a rethink of
how we celebrate Christmas Day, and most of all what type of food we
enjoy. My father who was a native of the United Kingdom, and who visited
the homes of many of these migrants when delivering their groceries,
was intrigued by the different Christmas decorations and traditions
in their homes. Ours was an Australian Christmas. In our front passage
a Cypress tree stood in a bucket with a few stones to keep it steady;
instead of beautiful shiny balls the tree was decorated by coloured
paper chains and later a length or two of tinsel. I can still remember
the year when Dad came home with a beautiful European made musical Christmas
carousel; the most expensive decoration we had ever seen, or heard,
playing a beautiful Christmas carol, and how pleased with it he was.
A typical Australian meal today
might be a cold picnic at the beach or at a nature reserve, the family
spread around on rugs enjoying cold roast chicken and salad from a cooler
with a glass of champagne or a can of beer. Instead of slaving over
the proverbial "hot stove" one might cook the Christmas chicken
and vegetables in a barbeque kettle; a much more civilized way of producing
a delicious meal than in the old wood stove I think.
Thanks to our Greek migrants we
have come to appreciate the inclusion of seafood in the Christmas meal,
with a whole fish being cooked on the barbeque or perhaps some prawns
on skewers. Hence the saying, 'throw another prawn on the barbie.' Many
families prefer to enjoy a completely cold meal of salads, roast chicken
pieces and cold cooked seafood.
The meal settings, along with the
type of meal have changed too. It is far more usual for families to
enjoy eating outdoors, depending on the weather of course, or sometimes
in spite of it. Adults can get down to the serious business of enjoying
the meal with a glass or two of Christmas Cheer, whilst the little ones
can freely run and play, perhaps using that new Christmas toy, all in
a far more relaxed atmosphere than the old traditional one.
Many families still choose the traditional
Christmas Dinner of roast turkey and ham accompanied by roast vegetables
or salads. They traditionally decorate their tables with candles and
holly; have lots of fun popping the Christmas crackers and laughing
at the jokes and silly hats contained therein. No matter how we choose
to celebrate Christmas Day, or what food we choose to celebrate with,
the indisputable fact is that the gathering of the family, the fellowship
and sharing far outweigh the importance of what we eat or how it is
prepared. This was brought home to me in an unforgettable way when my
husband and I visited Germany in 1990.
continue....read Margaret's story
- a german christmas
eve
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