Christmas

FX Holden sat on my knee and asked me to do a bit of Christmas round-up. I'm afraid it's more socks than spacesuit as I've never made a big deal of it all (except for gift receiving). I've found the recent putting christ into christmas hoo-ha a bit puzzling and the harnessing of it to blaming the usual suspects for political purposes distasteful at best. Tis the season of malicious anecdotes. As much as I'm chuffed for people enjoying the religious significance of it, Christmas is about as Christian as the English language is English. And in case that isn't clear I mean mainly nicked from elsewhere, in constant flux and local adaptation, and largely rescued from 20th century obscurity by finding a syncretic host in a successful economic entity. Sure there are people who see Shakespeare or an imaginary point in the 19th century as the line in the sand, but there are always prescriptivists. Just as they've done some wonderful things with English, I think the Japanese have done a wonderful thing with Christmas and it's my favourite version. Essentially it celebrates the three things that have made the last five decades fun - sex, nifty shops, and cheaply available chicken. I'm personally not that keen on the effects of cheaply available chicken but I'd argue you couldn't get a lot closer to the Mary and Joseph experience than trying to find a spare table in Harajuku or a vacant Love Hotel in Shibuya on Christmas Eve. As for the rest - eating well, seeing friends and family, feeling goodwill, and falling asleep in the afternoon - these are things we should always enjoy.

Anyway here's a few things for now:

The Spiceblog Christmas Helper
Christmas Brunch
Breakfast for Xmas: Spinach and Eggs in Ramekins; Oven Roasted Mushrooms, Tomatoes, and Prosciutto; Pancakes with Corn.

And in place of the usual Christmas cracker gags you can always use the one about the dyslexic devil worshipper.