Christmas feast, looking beyond cakes and confectionary

NAGPUR: What would a festival be without a feast? And though Christmas is associated with cake and confectionary, it is the family sitting down together for the meal that truly represents the phrase 'It's good to be home for Christmas'.
In the living room wrapped in a warm glow of a glimmering Christmas tree, there is a inviting table laid out and awaiting family and friends.
Preparations for Christmas feast starts days in advance, says Maria Braganza, a teacher. "The different varieties of cakes and wine are prepared weeks in advance. We also apply salt to the beef and preserve it to use it on the big day. For the Christmas feast I prepare pork vindaloo, chicken curry, meat loaf which has a stuffing of meat mince and also meat pie. All day long people visit us and for them we make lots of savoury snacks like cookies, marzipans and of course the cake. The cake is cut after coming home from the midnight mass. The other highlight is opening up the presents which the Santa gets for the family. This is done after the dinner," Braganza says.
For those who are passionate about cooking, Christmas offers an opportunity to exercise the culinary skills. Jennifer Roch, who has retired from WCL, is one such person.
"We in India have a different feast from what we see and hear about abroad. Turkey is not so popular here so we have chicken stuffed with vegetables, sausages and pieces of liver, which is the centrepiece of the table. Rice cooked with tomato and green peas is a must. Lunch is a heavy meal as there are many people at home, dinner is usually had with friends who drop in to wish us and that is also the time when we cut the cake. The Christmas pudding set in a mould and decorated with cherry, raisins and fresh fruit is the centre of attraction at this time."
For Alice Paul, the station head of an airlines, it is a double delight as Christmas also happens to be her son's birthday. "We have guests who come in right from early morning. As we stay away from our native place there is not much of a family here and mostly it is our non-Christian friends and neighbours who drop in. In dinner time we have a meal of appam with stew which is prepared at home," Alice says.
But for Dr Sanjay Nitnaware, besides the goodies and the gifts what makes this occasion truly festive and joyous is the fact that it is a time of renewal, a time to correct our mistakes and start afresh, to thank god for all that he has given us and also to remain humble in spite of all our achievements.