What is Christmas
to You?
Christmas nears, and for some Christmas Time conjures visions of Sugar-Plums or…but wait, what IS a Sugar Plum? I’d always pictured Sugar Plums as cute little girls in pastel color tutus dancing to the Nutcracker Suite. But no – SpecialityProduce.com says the Sugar plum is large oblong-shaped, purplish-blue skinned fruit with a confectionary sweet flavor. Well, I doubt many people are dreaming of pieces of dancing fruit in anticipation of Christmas Day.
Sugar Plums are also defined as sweethearts or lovers, but I don’t think that’s what Moore had in mind when he wrote The Night Before Christmas.
So back to the food theme. The site inliterature.net states “The Victorian sugarplum is essentially a preserved pitted plum rolled in sugar and baked at low temperatures for days until the plum is dried out and the sugar crust crisp”, apparently a delicacy. Other sources say the treats included toasted nuts and warm spices.
So this seems to be the famous Sugar Plums Moore was referring to. Interestingly back in the day sugar plums were also known as ‘comfits’ and started life as a medicine to treat indigestion. I guess it’s an appropriate image to come to mind in anticipation of over doing it at a huge Christmas feast! But I digress….
There certainly are countless different visions of Christmas.
For some Christmas Time conjures visions of Santa with his sleigh and reindeer running through the powdery snow, and for others a dinner feast, a bounty of gifts, the blessing of reconnecting with friends & family. And for many the true meaning of Christmas is a shining star in the night sky, a Nativity scene and hope.
Yet not all is cheery and bright this time of year. This morning on the Today Show, Archbishop Timothy Dolan spoke of the current darkness in the world. Yes, there certainly is darkness but there’s also hope. I love Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s words, written on Christmas morning 1864:
“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with
peace on earth, goodwill to men.’ ”
Photo Credit: Dorota Kudyba from Pixabay