Re: gingerbread cookies and being nice...

[Guest guest]

We don't have the "twelve days of Christmas " (but I've heard it's a custom in the US). We start Christmas season tomorrow (1st Sunday of Advent, and also the traditional "julskyltning", "Christmas display", when, in the old days when I was a kid..., the stores started their Christmas displays, and also was open despite it being a Sunday - these days most stores start their Christmas displays sometime in October, and many stores are open every Sunday, so that's not really something special anymore... Or as my mother once put it: "When you were a kid, libraries where open Sundays, and the stores where closed - today it's the other way around"...). That gives us some 24 days of indulging in Christmas goodies! Any excuse to eat candy and cookies, and to drink glögg etc., is a good one in my book... I used to make my own Christmas candy, by covering the almonds and raisins-mix (that is served with glögg) in chocolate. Until I realized that the chocolate covering was just my excuse to be allowed to call the almonds and raisins candy and eat it constantly... I'd just as happily have a huge bowl with just the raisins and almonds, and eat directly, no chocolate covering required... So that's what I do now... And I even mix them with my morning cereal, or have them in my porridge (the semolina wheat kind that I called "grandma porridge" as a kid...).Reb - the almonds and raisins nut...>> The saying here from a chilfen's fairy tale:> "sugar and spice and everything nice."> I just assume that the spice included ginger,> as it did in our house. Here, a common Christmas> custom is to build gingerbread houses--and the> recipes vary greatly.> > I myself am not really an authority on all this,> as we are jewish--not that we do not cook like> made fiends. Our holidays start on 12/21 and> last for a week--I know, "the twelve days of > Christmas"-- you two could indulge longer!> > Love to you and to , Reb> n> > > > > > ________________________________> To: MSersLife > Sent: Friday, November 28, 2008 8:49:46 AM> Subject: gingerberad cookies and being nice...> > > Hi all,> > As this is the first weekend of advent, time has come to start feasting on all the Christmas goodies. Such as gingerbread cookies, for instance, and glögg of course (warm wine drink, traditional Christmas thing in Sweden, I've bought six different kinds this year). > > In Sweden there is a saying that eating gingerbread cookies will make you nice - of course an excellent argument for any kid wanting more: "Mum, I don't think I'm nice enough yet, I probably need more gingerbread cookies"... To which the retort of course is: "Enough already, there IS such a thing as too nice. You don't want to be a complete doormat, do you?" > > I was wondering if other parts of the world has that saying too? Anyway I bought a kilo (about 2 pounds) today, so me and will probably be complete and absolute doormats come end of advent... > > love> /Reb>