Christmas Decorating?

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Egg Nog isn't a Christmas thing here. It was a very common and popular drink when I was growing up but it was cold rather than hot and it wasn't associated with any holiday, you don't see it very often any more.

It's a cold drink here too. Only sold between thanksgiving and christmas. I drink it without alcohol, but I remember people adding rum to it when I was younger. I think it was more popular when I was younger.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Yes, a very dense and very heavy fruitcake. I can't remember all the process of making them though, Mum used to make 3 every year, one for us, one for her mother and one for her grandmother who was still alive back then, but she stopped doing it when we were teenagers.

There were coins and charms in them too. We always had to give them back afterwards for next year but it was a nice surprise to see who got what. Don't just use any old coins for that, a lot of metals are poisonous. That was why we always had to give the coins back again, they were from before WWII and pure silver.

I think there's some kind of Commonwealth connection here. Because I have Scottish and Canadian relatives, and nearly everything you're talking about I remember being part of my childhood christmases.

My grandmother also made a very dense fruitcake that was either hung up or put in a low cabinet to keep cool for several weeks before the holidays.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Hot toddys were a traditional Christmas morning drink. And egg nog.

 

[Outdated]

I think there's some kind of Commonwealth connection here. Because I have Scottish and Canadian relatives, and nearly everything you're talking about I remember being part of my childhood christmases.

Australia is very British. For about 50 years migration was very restricted to anyone outside of Britain and because we're so far away from the rest of the world we had very little other foreign influences. That started to change in the 1960s.

Here a Hot Toddy was a cure for the common cold, but then just about all of Mum's cures involved alcohol in one form or another.

 

[Outdated]

Ginger....bread.....houses....for the win.

Lots of traditions start for practical reasons. Ginger was useful where you get lots of older people gathering because it reduces flatulence.

 

[Dagan]

Yeah, I use it for my stomach issues when stressed. Ginger ale. I call it my one vice.

Btw - I tried that Bold Ginger ale that was popular a while back. Nope. It was too strong. It made my lips burn.