The essence of Christmas, its distinct aroma, seems to have faded, replaced by the scentless flicker of electric candles mimicking the genuine article. The ubiquitous stearin candle remains the sole harbinger of the festive fragrance, a lone sentinel against the tide of artificiality. Even the culinary landscape has shifted, the traditional Christmas feast now encompassing a broader spectrum of dishes, a far cry from the days when the festive menu was more predictable, albeit with the curious exception of ”In dulci jubilo,” a song with lyrics in macaronic language – a blend of Latin and a vernacular tongue – perhaps evoking a sense of culinary fusion even then.
This culinary evolution triggers a poignant memory of the author’s grandmother, born in 1890. Her Christmas preparations began at dawn in a modest apartment, still chilled from the previous night’s dying embers. The ritual commenced with airing out the lingering smoke from her husband’s cigarettes, followed by a brisk wash in cold water, coffee brewing, a vigorous scrubbing of the kitchen floor and finally, the meticulous preparation of pressylta – headcheese – involving the careful slicing of pig’s head, pork shoulder, veal shank, and pork rind, all to be seasoned and simmered later in the day.
Her daily routine then shifted to her tobacco shop, where she meticulously organized an impressive array of smoking paraphernalia – fifty types of cigarettes, twenty varieties of cigarillos, ten different cigars, alongside pipe tobacco and snuff. Her shrewd business acumen was evident in her pricing strategy: selling stamps at face value, a penny less than competitors, and offering matches at a similar discount. While these minimal price differences might have slightly impacted her profit margin, they cultivated customer loyalty and ensured a steady stream of returning patrons. Remarkably, she maintained an unwavering cheerfulness, tirelessly responding to every Christmas greeting with a gracious ”Thank you, we wish you the same,” consistently employing the inclusive ”we” instead of the singular ”I,” a practice mirrored by her amiable assistant, Mrs. Johansson.
After Mrs. Johansson’s departure, her grandmother’s evening routine commenced: tallying the day’s takings, restocking the cigarette vending machine, and finally, alongside preparing a regular dinner, attending to the elaborate process of cooking the pressylta, ham, and pig’s feet, and pickling the herring. All the while, her grandfather, comfortably ensconced with the radio, decorated the Christmas tree, reveling in his double ration of spirits, procured through the borrowed ration book of his teetotaler brother-in-law.
The Christmases of yesteryear, despite their lack of television and the now-ubiquitous Kalle Anka (Donald Duck) Christmas special, held a certain charm. The author recalls their initial disappointment with the televised, abridged version of Disney cartoons, having previously experienced the full-length films in a cinema, highlighting the evolution of Christmas traditions and the eventual dominance of this now-iconic televised spectacle. This curated selection of cartoons has, in a sense, become a regulator of Christmas celebrations, shaping the experience and contributing to the ephemeral nature of the holiday, quickly forgotten after its culmination, only to be resurrected in a similar yet subtly different form the following year.
This nostalgic reflection on Christmas past underscores the stark contrast between the simpler celebrations of the author’s grandmother’s era and the increasingly commercialized and homogenized Christmases of today. The sensory experience of Christmas, once defined by the aroma of traditional cooking and genuine candlelight, now competes with a myriad of artificial scents and illuminated displays. The meticulous, laborious preparations undertaken by the author’s grandmother highlight a dedication to tradition and a genuine appreciation for the festive season, a stark contrast to the modern tendency towards convenience and fleeting enjoyment. This anecdotal narrative serves as a poignant reminder of the evolving nature of Christmas traditions and prompts reflection on the true essence of the holiday spirit.
