Food, Glorious Food

Christmas celebrations in our family features a meal of biblical proportions. There's always a huge turkey, homemade noodles, dressing, green bean casserole, crisp garden salad, sweet potatoes, several varieties of pies and my mother's heavenly fudge.

But in Regency times when A CHRISTMAS BALL is set, roast beef and venison were the main course of the dinner. Of course there might also be goose, capon, pheasant, bustard, swan and/or peacock!

But the real treat of the Regency Christmas meal was the pudding.

A pudding needed to be started before the first Sunday of Advent in order to be considered a true Christmas pudding. It was thought to improve with time. The recipe called for a mixture of thirteen ingredients (to represent Christ and the twelve apostles) which was boiled in a pudding cloth. Usual ingredients included suet, brown sugar, raisins, currants, citron, lemon and orange peels, spices, crumbs, flour, eggs, milk and brandy.

Other Christmas deserts included gingerbread, butter shortbread, trifle and syllabub (a milk, brandy and wine concoction which might be drunk or later whipped, gelled and eaten.) Children delighted in sugar plums and ginger nuts.

What special treats will your family enjoy this Christmas?

If you'd like to learn more about a Regency Christmas, visit my website and follow the bouncing Christmas ball!

PS. If you're in New England, you can see me on Saturday from noon to 4 pm at Well Read Books, 37 Plaistow RD, Plaistow, NH! I'll be signing copies of my books, alongside my critique partner Ashlyn Chase, just in time for all the romance readers on your list. If you're not able to make it, you can still get autographed books at THE BOOK OASIS. They'll ship anywhere! Merry Christmas!

Today is my last day at Chicks of Characterization and it's Friday, my regular posting day for The Chatelaines. Hope to see you there!

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

Readers have been flocking to my website since the announcement of the Merry Christmas Ball Contest at the beginning of October. Thank you all for entering and signing up for my newsletter. I'll always send you something fun!

Today I'm thrilled to announce that we have a WINNER! Congratulations to Tonya of Taylor, Michigan! Your $100 B&N gift card is on its way!

To everyone else, may I offer a free read as a consolation gift? Click here for A Dragon Caern Christmas. It's Christmas Eve with the characters of PLEASURING THE PIRATE and VEXING THE VISCOUNT. Plus, a new contest is starting on my website today! (All my contests are exclusively for my newsletter subscribers--don't worry! no purchase necessary!--but be sure you click the confirmation email you receive when you sign up and add my newsletter to your list of trusted senders.)

When I researched A CHRISTMAS BALL, I ran into lots of fun facts about having a Regency Christmas. I revamped my website and tucked in 6 bonus pages about how the holiday was celebrated in 1822. For example, we start in on our Christmas around October (at least that's what retailers want us to do!) In the regency, celebrating Christmas ran from December 24th (and not a day sooner!) to Twelfth Night (the eve of Epiphany.)

I share about Regency decorating for the holidays, special foods, games, traditions, and all about the heart of the 12 days spent celebrating. Every time you see one of these Christmas balls on www.emilybryan.com, click on the image to find the special page. (Of course, you can always check my site map if you don't want spend time surfing for the hidden pages!)

And be sure to pop back here each day throughout December. I have lots of guests lined up so there'll be plenty of prizes and fun! If you're wondering what to get the romance readers in your life, may I suggest a signed copy of A CHRISTMAS BALL at 10% off?

I always put up my Christmas tree and all the trimmings on the day after Thanksgiving. How do you kick off the holiday season?