(Takuya) wrote in
om:

> I grew up in a Japanese traditional local area, so have never
> celebrated Christmas. I have no idea what you Westerners do or eat
> on the day. If not mind,please let me know.

Customarily, among French-Canadians, Christmas was not a time of gift
giving. That was New Year's. The belief was that Christmas was a
remembrance of the birth of Emmanuel the Christ and should be
honoured, not polluted with material consideration. One went to
midnight mass and afterwards one family invited others (usually pre-
arranged and mostly relatives) to come eat (le réveillon) which
usually lasted until the wee hours. In Québec, the customary fare
consisted of tourtière

http://www.recfoodcooking.org/signature.php?page=22

and ragoût de boulettes (a variation of fricadelles), homemade
ketchup and pickled beets, then pies. One common pie was ferlouche
which is made with flour, water, butter and sugar, sometimes with
raisins. These were farmers whose access to exterior goods was
limited so they made do with what they had. The urban dwellers also
followed the same customs until fairly recently. I remember going to
midnight mass and réveillon in the early 1960's.

Christmas Day was usually spent in rest and short visits to
neighbours. It was customary to have a 40 oz bottle of gin for the
festive time and to offer the men a small glass upon arrival.

Now, Christmas is celebrated à l'anglaise in many French-Canadian
families simply because it's impossible to avoid. However, as
irreligious as I am, I still put up a crèche (a manger scene) at
Christmas. I am not opposed to people celebrating Christmas, I just
am not terribly fond of the gift giving aspect. Pick another day in
the year to give gifts and call it Gift-Giving Day...sometime in
February maybe when we can all use cheering up.

--

"It is easier for a rich man to enter heaven seated
comfortably on the back of a camel, than it is for
a poor man to pass through the eye of a needle."

Supply Side Jesus