Have an Old-Fashioned Holiday

By Compiled And Jessica Kellner
Published on October 6, 2015
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Recycled toilet paper rolls make an easy and festive DIY advent calendar.
Recycled toilet paper rolls make an easy and festive DIY advent calendar.
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Fill your holiday season with traditional crafts, foods and activities.
Fill your holiday season with traditional crafts, foods and activities.
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Decorate and scent your home with pomander balls.
Decorate and scent your home with pomander balls.
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Pass long winter nights and craft personalized gifts when you learn how to knit.
Pass long winter nights and craft personalized gifts when you learn how to knit.

With its cold weather and long nights, the holiday season has long been a time when families spend more evenings together, gathered around the warmth of the fire, finding ways to while away the hours. Many traditional activities for this time of year also served a purpose for our forebears: Baking makes heating the home productive; warming drinks and spices help our bodies stay comfortable; and slowing down lets us rest and recharge as the year comes to an end. Although electric lights, televisions, computers, smartphones and video games make it easy today to overcome the potential hardships of this time of year, you might find it does your health some good to honor this portion of nature’s cycle. Consider these old-fashioned recipes, activities and gift ideas to make your holiday hearken to our shared human history, and to spend some quality time with your loved ones while enjoying the traditional tastes, scents and pastimes of the season.

Mulling Spices

‘Tis the season for the toasty, comforting scents and flavors of aromatic mulling spices, including cinnamon, cloves, allspice and star anise. The hot drinks served up this time of year are deeply satisfying, and folks who live in cold, northern climates have been coming up with ways to serve spiced beverages for centuries. There’s just no getting away from the comfort of sharing big bowls of spicy ales and punches.

My favorite story of spiced wassail involves the indigenous populations of southern England. In the apple-growing, cider-producing parts of Medieval Britain, the winter cider celebrations were a way to celebrate the health of the apple trees. One folktale tells of the ancient “Apple Tree Man” who resides as a spirit in the oldest tree in the orchard. By offering up the last mug of mulled cider (pouring it over the tree roots), the bounty of the next year’s harvest could be expected. I’ll raise a mug to that!

These mulling spices work great with apple cider, wine or other festive drinks. It can also be boiled on the stovetop as a nice spicy potpourri. A gift basket including a bag of spices along with fresh apple cider or a bottle of red wine makes a wonderful gift, indeed. Print the following drink recipes onto lovely cards to go along with it. —Kori Rodley, Mountain Rose Herbs

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