Hi all! I am new to this forum and relatively new to homesteading. Moved from the city to the country life about 18 months ago. A tradition that my kids and I have decided to start with this new years is one that we are borrowing from the far east. My kids and I had read of a Chinese New Years custom of making paper boats and decorating them to reflect your own personality and then setting them afloat to carry away your worries, fears, problems of the previous year.. We did the boat thing in the city and it was fun. Well ..while cutting firewood last week we decided that we would each pick a log and carve & decorate it , this log to be burned on New Years eve, to symbolically burn away the cares of the previous year. I like the idea, what do ya'll think?

I've always wondered how maple leaves and syrup became such iconic symbols of Canada, since that tree won't grow in most of the country, certainly not here on the prairies. Oh well, we do have lots of beavers, even in the city, although I've never eaten one.... As a country of immigrants (or the descendants of immigrants), I'd say we tend to eat what is familiar, or failing that, what is available. My parents grew up here in Calgary in the '20s and '30s, when the only veggies eaten in the winter were potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage. Being mostly of UK descent, there was NEVER garlic in the house. No olive oil either. The fats of choice were butter, lard, and bacon grease. Mashed potatoes with every meal. I had never heard of, let alone eaten a bagel until I visited Montreal as a college student. But times change. Nowadays, pasta and rice are staples, not ethnic food. Hey, curries are pretty mainstream, as are perogies. I'm surprised how many folks I encounter don't know how to make mashed potatoes, although I think it was the New Brunswick bros McCain who invented oven fries, and everyone knows those. Tim Horton's has been much more successful than any political party in uniting the country as a national institution. I still remember when he was a hockey player...

We have some family traditions that came from my family when I was a child, and new ones that we created. We opened one present on Christmas eve, and it was usually the kids "care package" of smoked oysters, smokehouse almonds, and dried apricots (This was always one of their favorite presents) Christmas presents were opened on Christmas morning, but could NOT be opened until Mom (me) had her coffee, so the kids always got up early and made a pot of coffee, and delivered a cup to me in bed. Then we opened presents. Since when I was a kid my mother always passed out the presents, I now always pass out the presents, although in the last few years, I have given relinquished that job to oldest daughter, and then oldest granddaughter. My kids do not come on Christmas day, because that want to stay home and create their own traditions. I think this is wonderful, cause I hated having to get up early, open presents, then go to two sets of parents. The kids never had time to play with their stuff, and we were just rushing around all day. Now we decide at Thanksgiving when we will celebrate Christmas together. This year it is Saturday, Dec. 22. Because the kids get sick of all the turkey type dinners at the holidays, we would have a fancy Christmas evening dinner of standing rib roast, with fresh seafood flown from the coast, or Crown roast pork and fancy canapes. The kids and grandkids always liked getting dressed up in fancy-pants clothes for this. Bear in mind that the "Christmas evening" was actually our designated Christmas evening, not the real one. We would not open presents until after the fancy dinner. When presents are opened, it is one at a time from youngest to oldest (I always made sure everybody got the same number of presents). Noboby can open theirs until we all see what the opener before us got. In my husbands family, people just went in and started ripping things open, and we never knew who got who what, or instructions would have been ripped away and discarded, and I found the entire thing to be a disorganized disaster that stressed me out. My kids do the same things now with their kids: one at a time and the proper thank yous passed on. Now, with all the kids grown up, and nobody coming here for the real Christmas day, we stay up late watching movies on Christmas eve then sleep in on Christmas day, open our gifts to each other, and then go visit his family for a traditional Christmas dinner. For the past several years, however, we have decided to set a new tradition: a little trip at Christmas. Two years ago: New Orleans, last year, a Caribbean cruise, and this year, San Antonio, Texas. We have found it kind of fun to start new traditions and watch our kids start their own. One other thing, whatever day we all decide to be our Christmas together, the following morning we always have a sausage and cheese and egg casserole for breakfast. My kids all do the same thing: they serve this casserole every Christmas morning at their own homes. It has been fun reading everybody's traditions! Sherry

Okay, here you go. Chicken soup with matzo balls is traditional for Pesach (Passover), but our family, like many families, eat matzo balls in our chicken soup all year round, and chicken soup for Sabbath as well as other holidays. I know scientists disagree, but all I can tell you is that this "Jewish penicillin" really does work for us when we are sick! (Matzo balls optional) Some cooks add dill, parsnips, garlic, etc. -- use whatever you like, but make sure to use a KOSHER chicken and to cook it a LONG time. Hamentaschen are cookies for the holiday of Purim, which celebrates the story told in the Book of Esther. Some people use a yeast dough; this is a cookie-dough recipe. "Hamentaschen" means "Haman's pockets" in Yiddish (Haman is the villain of the story), although I was always told they resembled his three-corner hat. In Israel, they call these cookies "Oznei Haman" -- "Haman's ears"! Poppy is the most traditional filling, and prune and apricot are also very popular, but you can use any flavor you want. I've even seen them with chocolate or peanut butter. Just DON'T use jam instead of filling and DON'T try to puree dried prunes if the store is out of prune filling -- don't ask me how I know! Genuine Jewish Mother Chicken Soup (Eat! Eat!) 1 large cut-up kosher (tastes MUCH better, even if you don't keep kosher; if you can't find one, use organic) chicken, preferably a pullet 1 onion, peeled 2 stalks celery, scraped, no leaves, cut into sticks 2 big carrots, scraped, cut into sticks about 2 T salt a few generous grinds of pepper Put chicken in pot and fill with water to about an inch from top. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and skim. Add everything else, cover, and simmer a LONG time -- at least 1 1/2 hour, but up to 6-7 is better. Discard onion. Remove chicken and save for another use (or you can put some of it back in the soup). If it cooked down too much, add more water to at least half-fill the pot after chicken is removed; don't worry, it will still have the rich chicken flavor. I like the carrots and celery in the soup, but you do what you want. You can strain the soup if you want it to look perfect and aren't in a hurry. If you make it the night before and chill it, you can remove the fat (and save it for cooking), but leave a little for flavor. Serve with matzo balls (below), kreplach, noodles, or rice. Matzo balls 2 T schmaltz* or oil 2 lg eggs, slightly beaten c matzo meal 1 t salt, optional 2 T water (or chicken soup, if you are using oil) Mix schmaltz and eggs. Mix matzo meal with salt and blend. Add water and mix. Cover and chill at least 15 minutes. Boil slightly salted water. Reduce heat to low and add balls (wet hands). Cover and cook 30-40 minutes. *Schmaltz is rendered chicken fat. You can buy it frozen in a kosher food section or make your own. In a pinch you can use fat skimmed from the soup (in which case you may need less water). You can use oil, and your cardiologist will approve, but it won't taste as good! Hamentaschen ¾ c sugar ½ c butter or margarine 1 egg 2 T milk 1 t vanilla 2 c flour 2 t baking powder poppy, prune, apricot or your choice of pastry filling (2 ½ - 3 12 oz. cans for a double recipe) In mixer bowl, beat together sugar and butter till light & fluffy. Add egg, milk & vanilla; beat well. Combine flour & baking powder; stir into creamed mixture. Cover & refrigerate dough 1 hour. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter or juice glass. Top each with ½ t fruit or poppy or prune filling. Shape into triangles by lifting up edges & pinching dough together to make 3 corners. Leave center open. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; bake in preheated 350 oven for 10-12 minutes. (My first batch usually takes a little longer.) Remove from sheet; cool on rack. Make 2 ½ - 3 dozen. (I always double recipe)