Butler shares cherished Christmas memories

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 12: Christmas is a time when families gather together to enjoy each others company, open many gifts and of course, eat.

But do most families cook a large buffet or skip the hassle and go out to dinner?

Have we, as Bermudians, stopped with the traditional cassava pie, Christmas puddings and hams in lieu for eating out at a restaurant for brunch or dinner?

Dale Butler, author, historian and folklorist recalls his memories from Christmas as a child and compares them to what he sees today.

“The preparation for Christmas was an unbelievable thing. It was an unbelievable experience.”

He said it all starts a year before when the Christmas pudding was prepared.

“Right after Christmas, you would put your mixed fruit into black rum and sit it in a dark part of your cupboard.

“You turn it upside down every now and then. Some people would do it the week before Christmas.

“Of course, the children looked forward to licking the bowl and cracking the eggs.

“The cleaning of the house also began.”

He continued: “Something else was using the pail that had been soaked with black rum to boil the puddings outside.

“That stopped about 20 years ago when the rules changed about burning trash (outside fires).”

Mr Butler said once the pudding was sorted, cooks moved to cakes and pies.

“The great debate continued on the pies, if you were going to use all cassava or all farine.

“Are you going to mix them, make it with chicken or make it plain.

“As you got closer to Christmas, you have the baking of the ham with the brown sugar and pineapple.

“Then of course the grand baking of the turkey. That would last a long time.”

But sometimes people don’t want to deal with the hassle. That’s where dining out enters the picture.

Asked why more and more families go out to eat for Christmas nowadays, Mr Butler said: “The grand dinner is still very big in a number of homes but now, grandma may not be able to do it as well and you have people going out to find the traditional meal.

“More restaurants and hotels are offering more traditional Bermudian cassava pie or farine pie.

“Obviously the numbers have been increasing because you see more restaurants and hotels open.”

He continued: “More people now seem to be taking a night or two in a hotel to relax.

“More people are staying out and I think it’s a wonderful thing that no matter where they get together, people get together.”

Mr Butler said in his family’s home, he was forced to listen to Handel’s Messiah from September until Christmas to ensure he knew the whole thing.

“We were being prepared for something bigger. That’s a tradition I passed down to my own children.”

Mr Butler said the day after Christmas, Boxing Day, was all about split pea soup with ham, turkey or meat free.

It was always served with homemade rolls or cornbread.

He also spoke about Metro Sodas, which were designated for guests.

And leftovers were such a big deal as well, if not more important that the actual Christmas dinner.

“The Christmas meal would be repeated. You got it again with a stew or a turkey soup”, he added.