We do find comfort in the traditions of the holiday season, don't we? Otherwise they wouldn't become traditions. Learning about the holiday traditions of other families is a lot like watching a National Geographic special about the mysterious and seemingly fictitious cultures of far away countries - while it's interesting to hear about yuletide rituals that are different from our own, we certainly wouldn't want to stray from our tried and true traditions that we grew up with.
My family gathers together on both Christmas eve and Christmas day. It's basically the same bunch on both occasions getting our fill, literally and figuratively, of holiday cheer and good eats.
On Christmas eve my brother and sister-in-law brought back an old family tradition that faded for the last few
years - periwinkle snails to shake up our usual appetizer favorites. Just like the days of old, the family was split on those that do and those that don't appreciate the old tradition of periwinkles. Moving on to the next course of traditional Christmas eve fare, we enjoyed piping hot bowls of oxtail soup then spaghetti with Italian sausage and homemade meatballs (we've never been able to trace back to when our Irish family went Italian on Christmas eve!).
My cousins, Andy and Sharon, brought us another gastronomic adventure on Christmas day. Over the past few years Andy has been delighting our taste buds with different beef roasts and this year was tops - garlic-rubbed beef tenderloin that melted in our mouths. Sharon took care of all the fixings from buttery mashed turnips, to slow-cooked carrots and potatoes and, of course, her famous must-have eclair cake.
After a two day whirlwind of delicious holiday food, fun times with family and another year of holiday tradition, my husband and I headed back home to our own cozy kitchen.