Tag Archives: Christmas Eve

Munlie Men

Nationality: European, Lebanese
Age: 56
Occupation: Children's Book Writer
Residence: Brea, California
Performance Date: 8 April 2012
Primary Language: English

After discussing a few traditions on Easter Day, this informant told me about her own holiday tradition that she started with her family. A few years ago, this informant found a recipe to make Munlie bread men in a magazine.  

This is the recipe for making a sweet German bread that is shaped into “little men” which is what Munlie or Mannlein is translated into in German. The informant discovered that these “little men” were a German Christmas Eve custom. Children would decorate this bread into little shapes and leave the bread out for Santa, the German version of cookies and milk.

There is actually also a German Children’s song “Das bucklige Männlein”, which translates to “The Hunchbacked Little Man” and this is why the bread men are twisted into outrageous looking shapes. After finding this recipe, my informant started sharing it with her family and now they make them every Christmas without fail. Every Christmas Eve, they make the bread and then Christmas morning, they shape and eat the bread.

This recipe consists of ingredients like lemon peel, honey and anise seed, which gives it the signature sweet flavor. And then to make a Munlie, there are much more specific directions, which were found with the recipe.

“To shape each munlie, start by cutting 3/4-inch notches on opposite sides of the log about 1 1/2 inches from an end (this marks the shoulders). Twist 1 1/2-inch section over 1 full turn to define the head. If desired, pinch and slightly pull the tip to make a pointed cap. To create arms (step 2), make slighty slanting cuts on opposite sides of the log starting about 3 1/2 inches below shoulders and cutting up about 2 3/4 inches (leave about 1/2 to 1 inch across center for chest). For legs, cut from end opposite head, making a slash through middle of the log and up about half of its length. To animate each little man, pull and twist the arms and legs into active positions, making at least 5 twists in each limb (step 3). Keep the limbs well separated for good definition of activity. Space the prancing munlies about 2 inches apart on the baking pan.”

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1216/is_v173/ai_3538967/

I believe this custom emphasizes the idea of family during a holiday. This is a recipe that allows the children to join in and make the food with their parents and then use their creativity to decorate it after. As with many holidays, Christmas time holds so many unique traditions and just like people make  Gingerbread men and leave cookies and milk out for Santa, this is the German way of celebrating the festivities.

 

Bayberry Candle

Nationality: American
Age: 51
Residence: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English

My Mother said that growing up, her mother would always burn a bayberry candle on Christmas Eve for good luck and that they would also burn it on New Years Day for good luck. It would burn the entire day until it the wax ran out.

According to my mother, this tradition comes from England, and then was continued as a New England tradition during colonial times. My mother told me that her mother’s side was English, and had the last name of Trasp, which is where the tradition of burning the candle came from in her family. She was not sure why it was a bayberry candle was burned, however.

My mother said that it wasn’t a tradition to make the candle, they usually just bought it. But the candle comes from the wax scraped off the berries of the bayberry shrub, and the bayberry plant is found in both Europe and North America.

This is interesting because in earlier colonial times the bayberry wax would be collected, perhaps because the animal fat used to make candles was scarce. Now the candles are made from other materials, with the bayberry scent, and burned for the sake of tradition.

The interesting thing that I found was that there were many traditional things that my mother did for good luck that came from different regions, and the bayberry candle was just one of them. There were multiple traditions around the holidays and my mother said they did them all, from burning a bayberry candle to a traditional German New Year’s dinner.

Tradition

Nationality: Italian
Age: 80
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Chicago, Il
Performance Date: February 16, 2007

Ever since I was little I have heard about this strange tradition that my dad’s side of the family used to do.  I talked with my grandmother in detail amount what the tradition entailed, and why they carried on this tradition.

My dad’s side of the family is from a small town in central Italy called Pelena. My great grandmother, Carmela Massmile immigrated to the United States when she was very young, around the time of 1912.  Despite being a female she is the one that enforced the tradition.  Often, in large Italian families it is the mother figure that is the head of the house.

My grandmother explained to me that this particular tradition of eating eel every Christmas eve was very important and special to them.  I asked why eel? She explained that on Christmas Eve the Catholic Church does not eat meat, and only fish is eaten.  It is unclear why eel was chosen besides the fact that my great grandmother liked that fish best.  On the morning of Christmas Eve the whole family would go to the fish market together.  They would buy the entire live eel.  At home my great grandmother would begin to prepare it.  First she would slice the eel as if is were a sausage, is round pieces.  Then she would put it in a pan with butter and bake it.  Despite that the eel was the main dish for the night, some other foods that were served were ricotta stuffed ravioli, and fried eggplant.

I asked whether any prayers different from normal everyday grace were said with the eating of the eel and my grandmother responded no.  She said that the day was about the whole family being together the day before the birth of Christ and enjoying a huge feast of foods that during the rest of the year they never ate.

Tradition

Age: 25
Occupation: Commercial Producer
Residence: Hermosa Beach, CA
Performance Date: March 2007
Primary Language: English

On Christmas Eve, Erin and her family and friends gather at her parent’s house for a feast.  The have served Mexican food from a local restaurant for approximately the past ten years.

Erin explained to me that this is a very peculiar new tradition her family is starting up.  The interesting facet about it is that no one in her extended family is of Mexican decent.  She explains that is all started when her mother accidentally overcooked the turkey she was to serve to twenty guests.  Her mother, who Erin said was always ready to adapt to setbacks, sent her and her brother out to get some food to serve.  After looking all over town, the only restaurant they found open that could serve such a large amount of people was a Mexican restaurant.  They served their guests tamales, taquitos, and enchiladas.  It was such a hit with their guests that they decided to make it a tradition.  Now their family and friends look forward to their annual Christmas Eve “Fiesta” (party in Spanish.)

Erin says this has become a very significant part of their holiday festivities.  Erin and her siblings look forward to that meal year round as it turns into quite a feast.  Erin says her mother has since adapted the occasion a little by contributing a large pot of tortilla soup to the already abundant Mexican feast.

I find this a very peculiar yet interesting tradition.  It all began simply because of a cooking malfunction and some guests’ love for Mexican food.  I would hope that they continue this tradition and Erin and her siblings pass it on to their children.

Tradition – American

Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Laguna Hills, CA
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English

Every Christmas season, Joshua’s family decorates a Christmas tree with ornaments.  On Christmas Eve, his mother hides a pickle ornament somewhere on the tree.  Then, on Christmas morning, Joshua and his sister look for the pickle in the tree.  The first person to find it receives a special gift, which is usually money, and supposedly a year of good luck.

Joshua says his family has been partaking in this tradition for as long as he can remember.  He says that as children, he and his sister would get very into it and would wrestle to try to get to the pickle first.  Ever since they each entered high school, the race has been less heated, with the two of them having a much more laid back attitude.

Joshua says he does not know the true meaning of this tradition, but knows that his mother did the same thing while she was a child.  While he originally thought it came from Germany, he informed me that he read an article which stated that its origins are unknown, and this tradition is widely unknown in Germany.

My informant says this tradition is very important to him.  Although it does not have a greater meaning behind it that he knows of, he says it is important to him because it helps give his family an identity with which they can pass on traditions to their ancestors.

Through research I conducted after the interview, I found out that in fact the origins are truly unknown for this tradition.  Many in the past believed it came from Germany, but few people in Germany know about this tradition.  I think it is important for families to have their own traditions they can pass down to their ancestors as it helps keep the family more together during the holiday season.

I found this tradition at:

http://www.sabineworld.com/12062002.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_ornament