Happy New Year’s eve
The savory smell of my traditional meat pies is filling the
air as I write this. I am making them
for our New Year’s breakfast tomorrow. (Recipe at the end of this blog.) Flowers
are blooming inside, and my plants are enjoying the sun filtering through the
window. It’s cold but above freezing and there’s just a bit of snow on the
ground.
We are lucky to get more sun and warmer weather than normal here
this year. For all of you who have had terrible weather, and even horrible
damage from weather, I hope for you better weather and better times in the new
year.
Whether you go by the Gregorian calendar or not, tomorrow is
the beginning of a new year by the natural cycle of the sun. Winter Solstice occurs in the morning and the
sun will begin to climb again in the sky. This cycle does take 365 days+/- a
few minutes but the suns year started on December 21, 2020, not January 1, 2021,
on the human calendar. I don’t know why people shifted the beginning and end of
the natural year to a different start and end. Maybe to prolong those solstice
celebrations?
December 20th is the last day of the natural year
based on the suns annual cycle. December
21st is the calendar date of the first day of meteorological winter
and the natural first day of the new year. For EST the exact time of winter
solstice is 10:59 am, December 21st.
However most traditional celebrations begin at midnight on the 20th.
And although winter solstice is the shortest day
technically, the days just before and after winter solstice are only seconds shorter
or longer. We will have 4 minutes more daylight by December 31st. By
the end of January 52 more minutes have been added
Winter solstice always makes me very happy because the dregs
of the year, the darkest times are over and slowly the days begin to lengthen
and the sun, the source of life, grows stronger and climbs higher each day. It’s
getting closer to gardening time with each passing day now. Oh, yes there will
still be some dark, cold times ahead, but there is the knowledge that we are
moving forward to better times.
It must have been a little disconcerting for early migrators
from equatorial zones to see the sun getting lower in the sky and the days
growing colder and shorter in their new homelands. Naturally they would monitor the skies,
hoping for the sun to return to normal. The farther north (or south) you move
the more drastic the difference in winter and summer would become.
It amazes me that early man, long before our powerful and
precise instruments were developed, was able to so accurately follow the suns
cycle and predict the date of solstice. Knowing
what to expect, is of course, a great relief to most humans.
Celebrating winter solstice
Our distant ancestors knew that the sun was the key to life.
Long before Hanukkah, long before Christmas, long before all other holidays,
people celebrated the winter solstice, the turning point of the sun. At winter
solstice the sun has been resurrected or reborn. When the sun “turned and began
to come back” it was a signal that life would continue. This has always been a
time for great celebration.
Our ancestors believed that man was closest to the spiritual
realm in the days around winter solstice.
It was a solemn time of meditation and reflection, a time to relinquish
fears and cares in the old year and look forward to better times in the new. Fires
were lit to symbolically burn fears, cares and transgressions.
The proper way to celebrate solstice eve is to build a fire,
small or large. Oak wood for the fire had spiritual significance in earlier
times. Then you transfer your cares, problems, and sins from the old year to
something you can burn, pinecones, written notes, sprigs of herbs and so on,
and burn them. After burning the past,
say what you want in the new year. For three days you should reflect on the old
year and plan for the new.
At the end of about 3 days of solemn retrospection, there
should be feasting and visiting with the community (not this year though,
unless virtually) to celebrate life and the promise of the new year. Small
gifts were given in past times, mostly for luck in the new year, which is the
probable origin of gift giving at this time of year.
If you wish to gift people Winter Solstice gifts should be small
and symbolic, herbal and dried flower bougets, handmade items, special foods,
plants, cards with special notes for friends and family, books and so on.
Our ancestors also brought greenery into the house, pine
boughs and other evergreens which symbolize eternal life. Mistletoe warded off
evil. This is where the custom of decorating the home with evergreen trees and
wreaths began. So feel free to decorate with live greenery.
Christmas, not coincidently, falls about three days after
winter solstice. Several hundred years after Christ was supposedly born Christian
religious leaders were struggling to keep people from celebrating the pagan
celebrations of winter solstice. They decided to embrace it, giving Christians
a holiday they could celebrate without guilt. Still many Christian groups would
not allow either celebration for hundreds of years.
You can celebrate both holidays if you like. Certainly,
there is a great need for burning away the cares and problems of the past year.
And we need the hope of a better year.
Christmas
Plants
Even though it’s cold in many areas many plants are sold
around Christmas for decoration and as gifts. I’ll give some links to articles
on the care of individual species but there are some generalities to consider
when bringing Christmas plants home.
First protect plants from the cold when taking them from the
store to your car. For some plants even a short blast of cold air can cause
problems. If temperatures are below 40 degrees F make sure to cover the plant before
it goes outside and move it to a warm car quickly. It belongs in the passenger
compartment, not the trunk.
And don’t leave the plant in the car while you shop at other
stores or worse overnight. This will kill most plants sold at Christmas if
temps fall below freezing. Poinsettias and other indoor plants cannot be used
as porch decorations if you live in the north.
It’s also not the time of year to buy plants that need to be
shipped. Plants left in unheated warehouses and delivery vans are going to
arrive damaged or dead. Reputable and experienced nurseries won’t ship plants
to you if they believe they may get too cold. But there are many inexperienced
and not so reputable people out there selling plants that will ship them to
you- and hope you won’t bother them for a refund.
If you are buying or are gifted plants you want to keep
living after the holidays follow these tips. Remove the colorful foil from the
plant as soon as possible and make sure the pot can drain. Keep the plant away from heat sources and
drafts. Check to see if the soil feels dry before you water the plant but do
water it before it wilts.
Plants can survive low light for a few days while you use
them for centerpieces and décor, but you need to get them into the light
conditions they prefer as soon as possible.
In the northern half of the US and in Canada winter sun is not strong
and if you do not have a south or west window plants can sit in directly,
consider using a grow light over them.
Make sure people don’t dump drinks in plants. And many
Christmas plants can be harmful to children and pets, so keep them away.
Poinsettias get a bad rap for being poisonous, but they are only mildly toxic,
causing vomiting if enough is eaten. Mistletoe, Jerusalem cherry (Solanum
pseudocapsicum) and yews are very toxic and probably shouldn’t be brought
into homes with children and pets. Make sure to identify and look up the
toxicity of any plant you bring inside if you have children and pets.
Live evergreen trees that are hardy outside should only be
kept inside for a week or so and kept away from heat sources. Then move them outside, even in cold
areas. Rosemary sheared into a tree
shape should be moved to a cool (temps 40-60 degrees F), but bright place if
you want it to stay healthy until spring.
Here are some links to articles on Christmas plant long term
care.
Amaryllis
https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/houseplants-amaryliss4-amaryllis-did.html
Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti
http://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/christmas-thanksgiving-and-easter-cacti.html
Frosty Fern
https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/frosty-fern-selaginiela-krausianna.html
Mistletoe- note, this won’t grow in the house
https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/mistletoe-strangler-and-kiss-mistletoe.html
Norfolk Island Pine
https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/httpsgardeninggrannysgardenpages.html
Poinsettias
https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/if-you-got-poinsettia-for-christmas-you.html
Rosemary- scroll down this page on herbs until you find
rosemary
http://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/herbs-growing-and-using.html
Tourtiere
– French Canadian Meat pies
Meat pies are one of those items that have popularity in
many parts of the world and each family who enjoys meat pies and makes their
own may have a slightly different recipe.
My family is of French-Canadian ancestry and meat pies have always been
part of our Christmas breakfast. First
my paternal grandmother made them, then my father and now I make them, along
with some of my sisters, to carry on the tradition.
Typically, French Canadian Catholics ate meat pie after
midnight mass. In our family that was
moved to later, on Christmas morning. Our
meat pies were spicy with black pepper and liberally doused with ketchup- which
is also a common topping in Canada.
You can vary the spices in your meat pie, I have seen old
recipes use thyme, rosemary, bay, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, as well as pepper
and garlic. Onions are a part of most
meat pies. Our meat pies always had
potato in them- my grandfather also liked turnip in them when he had some. But in earlier times it was said that only
those poor enough not to have much meat added potatoes.
I use ground beef and some spicy sausage in my meat pies,
but others add venison, ground pork, veal or lamb. About 3 pounds of meat will make two standard
pies. Feel free to experiment with meats
and spices to make your own family recipe.
Ingredients
2 pounds of lean ground beef
1 pound of spicy (hot) ground sausage
6 cups of frozen Potatoes O’Brian (potatoes with onions and
peppers)
Or 4 cups of finely diced potatoes and 2 cups of finely diced onion
½ teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (or to taste)
pie dough for 2 double crust pies
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Put bottom crust in each pie pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large pot, cook the beef and sausage with spices until
lightly browned. Drain off any grease.
You should not need to add water.
Add potatoes O’Brian. (No need to thaw)
Cook, stirring often to keep meat and potatoes from
scorching or sticking until the potatoes are soft. Drain off any remaining grease.
Mash the meat and potato mixture with a potato masher or
spoon so that the mixture is uniform, with no large pieces of meat or potatoes
remaining. (Taste the mixture to see if
more spices are needed and adjust to your taste.)
UPDATE: You can put the meat and potatoes in a crock pot
and cook until the meat is cooked and potatoes soft.
Fill pie crusts with hot meat mixture and top with the upper
crust. Put a few slits in the top crust
and brush with melted butter.
Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Serve warm with ketchup.
(Some people like a beef gravy instead.)
Note: pies can be made ahead, cooled, wrapped tightly and
frozen. Defrost and heat thoroughly in
oven before serving.
Have a spiritual solstice and a Merry Christmas or a
great Holiday of your choosing.
Kim
