CHRISTMAS DAY, DECEMBER 25
“And Mary brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him up in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Lk 2:7).
The great feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ has long served as an occasion for special drinks. In the Latin countries of Europe, wine is customarily enjoyed on this day, and in the northern countries beer or ale. Indeed, a multitude of the latter are now named after Christmas (see below). Traditional drinks with more of a kick include Mexican rompope (see pp. 210–11) and a Tom & Jerry (see pp. 351–52).
But special mention must be made of eggnog and Christmas punch. Eggnog has been a popular Christmas drink in the English-speaking world for at least two hundred years. Eggnog mix is widely available at Christmastime in grocery stores and supermarkets. It is served either without alcohol or with a shot of brandy (1½ oz.), and always with a sprinkle of nutmeg. Some folks use a combination of brandy and light rum, and some make their own eggnog from scratch according to different recipes with various degrees of complexity. Here is a simple recipe for one serving, together with the brandy/rum variation.
Eggnog
1 egg
1 tsp. sugar
1½ oz. milk or cream
1 oz. brandy
½ oz. light rum
nutmeg
Beat egg, sugar, and milk or cream until smooth and frothy. Pour into an old fashioned glass and add brandy and rum. Stir and top with sprinkled nutmeg.
Christmas punch is the successor of “wassail,” a medieval combination of hot ale or mead, roasted apples, eggs, nutmeg, and floating pieces of toast. Today’s Christmas punch, by contrast, typically uses wine as the base ingredient. Lamb’s Wool, which we recommend for the Epiphany, is a variation of the classic wassail but with wine (see p. 391).
Below are two Christmas punch recipes from Maria von Trapp, whom we consult frequently during these Twelve Days of Christmas. Immortalized by Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music, the real Maria was no flighty cloud that needed pinning down but a stalwart and intelligent convert to Catholicism who wrote several books, one of which contains her family’s Austrian customs for the liturgical year.
Christmas Punch
1 sliced pineapple
1 bottle claret (or any hearty, dry red wine)
1 bottle red wine
½ bottle rum
juice of 4 lemons (4–6 oz.)
juice of 4 oranges (8–10 oz.)
1 pint water
1 lb. sugar
grated rind of 1 lemon
grated rind of 1 orange
4 whole oranges cut in pieces
1 stick cinnamon, broken up
1 vanilla bean
½ cup Maraschino cherries
champagne
Boil spices thoroughly with the water. Remove them and pour the water into a large earthenware pot. Add lemon and orange and rind, as well as pineapple and sugar (fruit and sugar prepared in a separate dish). Then add wine and rum; cover and heat. Add champagne before serving.
Maria does not stipulate how many this will serve, but we estimate that it provides around fifteen one-cup servings.
Christmas Punch for Children
1 qt. grape juice
2 qts. water
2 cups sugar
½ tsp. whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon
juice of 2 lemons (2–3 oz.)
juice of 2 oranges (4–5 oz.)
rind of above lemons and oranges
Boil sugar, water, lemon rind, and spices until flavored. Mix with the rest of the ingredients, boil five minutes, and serve hot in punch glasses. Makes approximately twelve one-cup servings.
LAST CALL
The word “wassail” comes from the Old Saxon toast, Was haile—“Your health!” Tonight and throughout the Twelve Days of Christmas, use this ancient drinker’s greeting, along with a traditional Christmas greeting borrowed from the Byzantine rite. One person proclaims, “Christ is born!” and the other replies, “Glorify Him!”
Beer and Wine
There are well over two hundred ales, beers, or porters with the word “Christmas,” “Noël,” “Navidad,” or “Weinacht” on their label. Let local availability be your guide.
Domaine de Martinolles is a winery that keeps alive the traditions and vineyards begun by the monks of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Hilaire in Saint-Hilaire, France, in 1531. The winery makes a number of still and sparkling wines such as their Le Berceau Brut, which is French for “The Cradle”—presumably, the cradle of Our Lord. Enjoy some bubbly tonight, either on its own or in a champagne cocktail (or in the Trapp Christmas punch).
ST. STEPHEN, DECEMBER 26
St. Stephen, one of the first seven men ordained a deacon by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is called the Protomartyr. Stoned to death by order of the Sanhedrin, he was the first disciple of Christ to shed his blood for the faith (Acts 6:5–7:59). Stephen is a model of that divinely infused love known in the Christian tradition as agape or caritas, the gift of God which in English we call “charity.” Charity’s divine origin cannot be overemphasized, for it is by no merely human love that someone can follow the example of Our Savior and forgive the men murdering him. Yet as St. Luke tells us, as Stephen was dying he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice: “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.”
By a strange twist of history, St. Stephen is also the patron saint of horses, so feel free tonight to make good use of any Kentucky bourbon in a nod to the nation’s most famous horse race, the Derby.
You can also have something a little more directly connected to our saint, such as a cocktail sharing the Protomartyr’s name. The oh-so-Catholic Bénédictine liqueur is a nice touch.
Stephen’s Cocktail
1 oz. sherry
¾ oz. dry vermouth
¾ oz. Bénédictine
Pour ingredients into an old fashioned glass filled with ice and stir.
Or, in honor of one of the Church’s first seven members of the diaconate, have a Rosy Deacon or a Pale Deacon. Sloe gin is a delicious liqueur made from sloeberry, also called blackthorn plum.
Lastly, see if you can track down a bottle of Saint Etienne rum from Martinique, bottled by Habitation Saint Etienne.
Rosy Deacon
¾ oz. gin
¾ oz. sloe gin
1 oz. grapefruit juice
sugar to taste
Pour all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Pale Deacon
1¼ oz. gin
1¼ oz. grapefruit juice
½ tsp. sugar
Pour all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass.
LAST CALL
St. Stephen’s is the traditional day on which the abundance of Christmas is shared with the less fortunate. It was on this day that the poor boxes of the church were emptied and their contents distributed to the needy—hence the term “Boxing Day.” Today, do something nice for the poor, like giving a homeless person some food or warm clothes. Then say a prayer for the less fortunate before wassailing in gratitude for the blessings God has given you.
Beer and Wine
The Selkirk Abbey Brewing Company in northern Idaho makes a St. Stephen Saison, the Mystery Brewing Company in Hillsborough, North Carolina, makes a St. Stephen’s Green (a dry Irish stout), and the Belgian Brouwerij Van Steenberge has a number of St. Stefanus brews, named after the Augustinian monastery of St. Stefanus in Ghent. Failing all these options, go shopping for any beer with a horse on the label.
For a French wine, look for any bottle with the appellation Saint-Estèphe, one of the AOCs for red wine in the region of Bordeaux in the Médoc subregion. Or look to the Côtes du Rhône and to the winery Château St-Estève at Uchaux. Estèphe and Estève, incidentally, are corruptions of Étienne, the French version of Stephen.
In Italy, the Santo Stefano vineyard produces some of the Piedmont region’s best grapes, which are used by wineries such as Castello di Neive. There is also a Santo Stefano winery in California’s Napa Valley.
ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, DECEMBER 27
Like St. Stephen, St. John the Apostle and Evangelist is associated with charity, since his writings marvelously emphasize the love of God (cf. John 3:16, I John 4:7–8). John, in turn, was blessed by Christ’s special love for him. Though Our Lord made St. Peter the head of His Church, He retained a personal affection for the “beloved disciple.” This is all the more endearing given that Our Lord also called John and his older brother, St. James the Great, “Sons of Thunder,” most likely for their fiery tempers (Mk. 3:17).
It has been said that St. John was the only Apostle who did not die a martyr’s death because, having stood beside the Mother of God on Calvary, he had already testified to the Cross. The Church nevertheless honors John as a martyr because several attempts were made on his life. Perhaps the saint’s most famous brush with death came when his enemies tried to poison his wine. Some say that when the Divine John (as he is called in the East) made the sign of the cross over the cup, it split in half. Others claim that his blessing neutralized the poison in the potation and allowed him to enjoy it unharmed. Either way, it is a good reminder to say one’s grace before meals.
And it is also the inspiration for consuming the “Love of St. John” (Johannesminne or Szent János áldása), wine or cider that is blessed by the priest after Mass with a special blessing from the Roman Ritual and poured into everyone’s glass before dinner later that night. The blessed liquid was considered a sacramental and used in a variety of ways. It was poured into every barrel of the family wine cellar or kept in the house throughout the year for newlyweds to drink immediately after the wedding ceremony, for travelers before a trip, and for the dying after receiving Last Rites as “the last earthly drink to strengthen them for their departure from this world.”*
St. John’s Wine
1 quart red wine
½ cup sugar
3 whole cloves
2 two-inch cinnamon sticks
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
tsp. ground cardamom
Pour all the ingredients into a large saucepan and boil for 5 minutes. Serve hot. Makes approximately eight one-cup servings.
St. John’s Wine can also be mulled for a spicy hot drink on a cold winter’s night. We give you a recipe from William Kaufman’s Catholic Cookbook that makes an ideal treat for the entire family, since most of the alcohol is evaporated in the process (see above).
Of course, since the blessing on St. John’s Day mentions wine “or any other drink,” why not enjoy your favorite whiskey? Or have one of two mixed drinks in honor of the Beloved Disciple, the first of which, to our way of thinking, commemorates his nickname “Son of Thunder.”
Thunderclap
¾ oz. gin
¾ oz. rye or bourbon
1 oz. brandy
Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass or shaker filled with ice and stir until very cold. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Or try an invention from Father John Grant and his comrades who kept the “Saints and Spirits” tradition (see p. 432). A James and John on the Rocks honors the two Sons of Thunder who, as brothers, also get to share a drink. And isn’t the “Rock” St. Peter, with whom they were in union?
James and John on the Rocks
1 oz. Jameson Irish whiskey
1 oz. Johnny Walker scotch
Mix ingredients into an old fashioned glass filled with ice and stir.
It is eminently desirable to have St. John’s Love blessed by a priest after today’s Mass, since a sacerdotal blessing has a special efficacy. However, since it behooves every layman to bless his family and his food or drink, you should not fail to pray this blessing tonight even if you are bereft of Holy Orders.
O Lord God, deign to bless and consecrate with Thy right hand this cup of wine and of any drink whatsoever: and grant that by the merits of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist all who believe in Thee and who drink from this cup may be blessed and protected. And as Blessed John drank poison from the cup and remained completely unharmed, may all who drink from this cup on this day in honor of Blessed John be, by his merits, rescued from every sickness of poison and from every kind of harm; and, offering themselves up body and soul, may they be delivered from all fault. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
LAST CALL
Our Christmas guide Maria von Trapp describes the Austrian ceremony involving St. John’s Love. Before the dinner, everyone stands up with his glass of blessed wine. The father then takes his glass, touches it to the mother’s while looking her in the eyes and says, “I drink to you the Love of St. John,” to which the mother replies, “I thank you for the Love of St. John.” Both take a sip before the mother turns to the oldest child and repeats the ritual, at which point the child turns to the next oldest, etc. The last one to receive St. John’s Love (the youngest member of the family) gives it back to the father, thus closing the family circle.
Bless, O Lord, this drink, Thy creation: that it may be a salutary remedy for all who consume it: and grant through the invocation of Thy holy name that whoever tastes of it may, by Thy generosity, receive health of the soul as well as of the body. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And may the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, descend upon this wine, Thy creation, and upon any drink whatsoever, and remain forever. Amen.
HOLY INNOCENTS, DECEMBER 28
“Herod, perceiving that he was deluded by the wise men, was exceeding angry; and sending killed all the men children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men” (Mt. 2:16–17).
From what we can tell, the Roman rite has always kept the feast of “Childermas” (Children’s Mass) on December 28 since its beginnings in the fifth century. In so doing, the Western Church presents an interesting lineup of saints on December 26, 27, and 28. Stephen is a martyr by will, love, and blood; John the Evangelist a martyr by will and love (but not blood because he died a natural death); and the Holy Innocents are martyrs by blood alone. Indeed, because these children died not only for Christ but instead of Him, they are called flores martyrum, the “flowers of the martyrs.” As St. Augustine eloquently puts it, “They are the first buds of the Church killed by the frost of persecution.”
Tonight, exercise your imagination and have any floral-themed libation. It could be a drink with a floral name or something with a floral ingredient, such as the elderflower in St-Germain or a cocktail with passionflower syrup.
Or honor the “childer” in Childermas with a Kiddie Car Cocktail. You can use the apple brandy left over from Christmas Eve.
Kiddie Car
1¾ oz. apple brandy
½ oz. lime juice
¼ oz. triple sec
Pour all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass.
LAST CALL
The Twelve Days of Christmas are a time of “topsy-turvy” customs, where social ranks and pecking orders are inverted in giddy imitation of the grandest inversion of all—Almighty God’s humbling Himself to be born a man in a chilly and malodorous stable. Childermas is no exception. In many religious communities, the novices had the privilege of sitting at the head of the table at meals and meetings, while the last person who had taken vows in the monastery or convent got to be superior for a day. Young monks and nuns would receive congratulations and have “baby food,” such as hot cereal, served to them for dinner. In the family, the youngest child received special honors, even becoming master of the household. Not all customs, however, bode well for the young’uns. In some places, children awoke to a spanking from their parents to remind them of the sufferings of the Holy Innocents!
In the Philippines and some Spanish-speaking countries, Childermas is the equivalent of Aprils Fool’s Day, a time of pranks and practical jokes called inocentadas. And, of course, all of Christendom once abstained from servile work on this day—along with the other eleven days of Christmas.
Today, come up with your own topsy-turvy, prankish, leisurely customs. A good snort might help with the creative process.
DECEMBER 29
Thomas Becket (ca. 1118–1170) became archbishop of Canterbury in 1162 and soon began defending the rights of the Church against the encroachment of his former friend King Henry II. The most galvanizing issue was whether clergymen accused of crimes were to be tried by the ecclesiastical courts or the king’s. Becket refused to budge, and eventually the exasperated king was overheard by some of his knights to complain, “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?” Four of them took his words to heart, marched off to Canterbury, and slew the archbishop in his cathedral as he was approaching the sanctuary for Solemn Vespers on December 29.** Thus, as a hymn in his honor puts it, St. Thomas became “both priest and sacrifice in the church of Canterbury for the sake of the laws of justice.”
Normally if a saint’s heavenly birthday falls within the octave of Christmas it is transferred to another date, but the assassination of an archbishop during the age of Christendom was so shocking that the Church let his feast day remain on December 29. Tonight, toast Becket with your favorite English ale or beer. Or have a barely original cocktail called Becket’s Well. According to a legend, Thomas, passing through the village of Otford in Kent, was displeased with the taste of the drinking water. He struck the ground with his crosier, and a spring of water—Becket’s Well—bubbled up. The drink itself is a variation of the Fare Thee Well cocktail.
And, since ’tis the season for punches, make an Archbishop Punch tonight. True, it doesn’t come in a large bowl, but it does fulfill the original meaning of “punch,” which is a drink with five ingredients (usually alcohol, water, lemon, sugar, and tea or spices). The addition of Jamaican rum in 1655 is what makes the Archbishop a modern punch as opposed to a wine- or brandy- based wassail (see p. 369).
Becket’s Well
1½ oz. gin
¼ oz. dry vermouth
¼ oz. sweet vermouth
¼ oz. orange curaçao
Stir ingredients in a mixing glass or shaker filled with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Archbishop Punch
2 oz. port
2 oz. water
1 oz. lime juice
½ tsp. sugar
½ oz. Jamaican rum
Build ingredients in a highball glass filled with ice.
LAST CALL
Our favorite legend about St. Thomas Becket is the following. Once, a little bird that had been taught to speak escaped from its cage and flew into a field. A hawk swooped in for the kill, and as it was about to strike, the panicked bird cried out what it had heard others say in times of distress, “Saint Thomas, help!” The hawk was struck dead, and the bird escaped unharmed. Tonight, raise your glass, and in imitation of this smart little critter say, “St. Thomas, help!”
ST. JUCUNDUS OF AOSTA, DECEMBER 30
We don’t know a great deal about St. Jucundus, except that he lived in the early sixth century, was a bishop of Aosta, Italy, and participated in synods at Rome in 501 and 502. He is sometimes confused with another St. Jucundus, who was martyred in Reims, France, and was later anachronistically portrayed as a companion of St. Gratus of Aosta (d. 470). And as if this weren’t confusing enough, there are half a dozen other early saints named Jucundus.
But we do know two things: (1) Jucundus’s name means “merry,” “joyful,” or “jocund”; and (2) there is a San Giocondo wine (after the Italian version of his name) produced by the Santa Cristina estate of the Antinori winery (see p. 179). Put these two things together, and it can only mean that we should grow joyful with his wine. We’re sure he would have wanted it that way, whoever he was.
Or honor “Saint Merry” with a Merry Go Round cocktail, as we all go round and round about which St. Jucundus was which.
Merry Go Round
1½ oz. gin
½ oz. sweet vermouth
½ oz. dry vermouth
1 olive and 1 lemon twist for garnish
Pour all ingredients except lemon and olive into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with lemon twist and olive.
ST. FELIX (DECEMBER 30)
Providence has a wry sense of humor, assigning not one but two saints to December 30 who (1) have a jovial name and (2) are confused with other saints who have the same jovial name. St. Felix I, whose name means “happy” or “lucky,” was pope from 269 to 274. He is often confused with a martyr who died around the same time, and in the traditional calendar his feast day was assigned to May 30 instead of the day he died (December 30) because a scribe way-back-when had written “III Kal. Jun.” (third day to the calends of June) instead of “III Kal. Jan.” (third day to the calends of January). Obviously, Our Lord really wants both Jucundus and Felix to be remembered on the same day within the octave of His birthday so we can say both “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Christmas,” and both with a double meaning.
For Pope Felix, the happy helmsman of the Barque of Peter, have a Jolly Pilot.
Beer and Wine
The craft brewery Grado Plato in Chieri, Italy, makes a chestnut amber Strada San Felice (named after an old street). But it will probably be easier to track down a bottle of San Felice. The winery operates in several parts of Tuscany, including its famed Chianti Classico DOC region.
Jolly Pilot Invented by Edith Carlile
1½ oz. gin
½ oz. Amontillado sherry
½ oz. Cointreau
½ oz. brandy
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 lemon twist and 1 pearl onion for garnish (optional)
Pour all ingredients except lemon and onion into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with lemon twist and onion.
ST. SYLVESTER, DECEMBER 31
St. Sylvester was supreme pontiff during the reign of Constantine, the Roman emperor who ended the persecution of the Church. One legend even claims that Sylvester baptized Constantine after the latter was miraculously cured of leprosy.
There is a simple reason why the saint’s feast falls on this day. After twenty-one years of service to God as pope, Sylvester died and was buried on December 31, 335. That said, there is something appropriate about preparing for the new civic year with the first bishop of Rome to assume the throne of Peter during a time of civic peace, since this is the time when our hearts are filled with hope for “peace on earth.” Sylvester’s feast is so closely tied to December 31 that in many countries New Year’s Eve is known as Sylvester Night (Silvesterabend or Silvesternacht in Germany).
Sansilvestro—no longer in production—was a proprietary herbal liqueur made with suspended flakes of silver. Putting flakes of gold or silver into drinks, which goes back to ancient times, makes no change to the flavor and poses no risks to the body. Indeed, some folks claim that it aids the circulation and acts as an antioxidant.
As a nod to the old Sansilvestro liqueur and as a memorable way of wishing prosperity for you and your guests on New Year’s Eve, let’s drink some precious metal. Vinos y Licores Azteca and El Cartel distilleries have tequilas with gold or silver flakes, and there are several European liqueurs with gold such as liqueur d’or and goldwasser (see pp. 390–91). The easiest option to find in the United States, however, is probably a cinnamon schnapps with gold flakes from Goldschläger or Grand Royale. Gold in Harlem is the name of a lovely champagne cocktail invented by Amy Wisniewski that includes Goldschläger schnapps (see Chow.com). It was the inspiration for our own Godly Prosperity cocktail, which was perfected with the help of our friends Logan and Liz Gage. Appropriately, the name comes from a New Year’s wish of St. Thomas More for a friend.
Godly Prosperity
½ oz. cinnamon schnapps with gold flakes
¼ oz. lemon juice
3 oz. chilled brut sparkling wine
1 dash orange bitters
cranberry garnish
Build ingredients in a champagne coupe or saucer glass. (You can also use a champagne flute, but it won’t show the gold flakes as well.) Throw in a cranberry for some holiday color, but don’t eat it unless you like extreme tartness.
Sylvester Punches are a traditional way in Catholic cultures to usher in the new year. Here are two recipes for the occasion from Maria von Trapp. The second is an alcohol-free version for the little ones, which we have taken the liberty of naming Maria’s Punchless Punch.
The Trapp family also created a little variety each year by adding one of the following to the basic recipe: (1) 1 cup grated pineapple and 1 qt. ginger ale; (2) 1 qt. strained and sweetened strawberry juice, 1 qt. raspberry juice, and 2 qts. ginger ale; (3) 1 glass currant jelly dissolved in 1 cup hot water (cooked and then chilled) and ¼ cup finely minced mint; or (4) 1 qt. cider, 1 qt. grape juice, and 1 qt. soda water.
One suggestion: Our panel of junior tasters found the punch a bit too sweet. Rather than pour in the entire cup of sugar, you may wish to add to taste.
You can also try Poncz Sylwestrowy, a “delicious (and potent) punch from Poland” made with white wine and rum. The recipe below serves approximately sixteen half-cup servings.
Maria von Trapp’s Sylvester Punch
1 750 ml bottle of red burgundy
750 ml hot tea
12 cloves
rind of 1 lemon, thinly pared
2 tbsp. sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
Pour the wine into a pot and add cloves, lemon, sugar, and cinnamon. Heat over a low flame but do not allow to boil. At the last moment add the tea. Serve hot. Makes approximately twelve one-cup servings.
Maria’s Punchless Punch
½ cup lemon juice
rind of 1 lemon, grated
1 qt. water
1 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
grated rind of ½ orange
Cook sugar and water for five minutes. Cool. Add juices and rind. Makes approximately five or six one-cup servings.
Poncz Sylwestrowy***
2 oranges
2 lemons
sugar to taste (about 1 cup)
4 cups white wine
2 cups light rum
Juice the oranges and lemons and grate the orange and lemon rinds. Combine the rind with sugar, wine, and rum in a large pan. Add the juices of the orange and lemon. Heat but do not boil. Serve hot.
Note: If the punch is too strong or sweet, it can be diluted with hot water. At our last Silvesternacht, we added one cup of water and liked it better.
The Brasserie de Saint-Sylvestre in French Flanders produces a number of well-regarded beers, some of which are exported to the United States.
As for wine, the Cantine San Silvestro in Italy produces some of the leading DOC and DOCG red wines in the celebrated region of Piemonte, or Piedmont.
LAST CALL
Sylvester Night traditionally abounds with charming customs. In France and French Canada it was customary for the father to bless the members of his family and for the children to thank their parents for all of their love and care. In central Europe, a pre-Christian ritual of scaring away demons with loud noises became the inspiration for our New Year’s Eve custom of fireworks and artillery salutes. In Austria, December 31 was sometimes called Rauhnacht, or “Incense Night,” when the paterfamilias went through the house and barn purifying them with incense and holy water. In Spain and other Spanish-speaking areas it was considered good luck to eat twelve grapes at the twelve strokes of midnight.
Holy Mother Church also attaches a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, to the public recitation of the great Latin hymn of thanksgiving the “Te Deum” on the last day of the year, while a partial indulgence “is granted to those who recite the Te Deum in thanksgiving.” Sing or say the “Te Deum” tonight, or if you lack the time, at least make a toast filled with thanksgiving for the previous year.
Lastly, paraphrase St. Thomas More and wish each of your guests a year of “godly prosperity,” a year that sees a “happy continuation and gracious increase of virtue” in their souls.
THE CIRCUMCISION/MARY, MOTHER OF GOD,
JANUARY 1
Over the centuries, January 1 in the calendar of the Latin Church came to be a combination of three feasts: the octave day of Christmas, the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord—which, according to the Gospel, took place on the eighth day after His birth (Lk. 2:21). In the post–Vatican II calendar, January 1 is known as the octave of the Nativity and the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
“Bad Catholic” John Zmirak impishly offers Bloody Marys (see p. 226) as a tie-in to the feast of the Circumcision,**** but there is another reason to heed his suggestion. Most drinking on New Year’s Day, if it takes place at all, takes place during brunch, and the Bloody Mary is an ideal brunch drink. Plus, one way to “translate” the phrase Bloody Mary is “By Our Lady, Mary” (see p. 226), thereby hearkening to the Marian dimension of the day.
Holy Mother Church grants a plenary indulgence when the great hymn to the Holy Spirit “Veni Creator Spiritus,” or “Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest,” is recited on January 1 under the usual conditions. Belt it out today with gusto. Even if you don’t meet the requirements for a plenary indulgence, you can still start the year off right with a Bloody Mary and a partial indulgence.
THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS, JANUARY 2
(JANUARY 3)
LAST CALL
Lift a couple of lines from the Litany of Divine Praises for your toast: “Blessed be God! Blessed be His Holy Name! Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man! Blessed be the name of Jesus!”
January 1 was the day that Our Lord was formally given the name Jesus, on the occasion of His circumcision (Lk. 2:21). But since January 1 is already somewhat crowded with things to celebrate, it makes sense that the Church would reserve a special day to honor Our Lord’s saving Name. In the 1962 calendar, that day is the Sunday between January 1 and January 6 or otherwise on January 2. In the new Church calendar, it is January 3, restored there by Pope St. John Paul II after the feast had been dropped from the 1970 calendar.
The Holy Name of Jesus, foretold to both St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary months before His birth, means “Yahweh Saves.” To honor the Savior God who loves us so much that He came into the world on Christmas Day, try the following.
He Loves Me
1 oz. gin
½ oz. sweet vermouth
¼ oz. grenadine
¼ oz. pineapple juice
1 egg white
1 pineapple spear for garnish
Pour all ingredients except the pineapple spear into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with pineapple spear.
Genevieve (419/422–512) was a girl when St. Germanus of Auxerre and St. Lupus of Troyes stopped at her hometown of Nanterre in France to preach. St. Germanus saw in Genevieve a sign of great holiness and told her parents so. Genevieve later moved to Paris and became a nun. When the city was threatened by Attila the Hun, her prayers helped turn him away. Even centuries after her death, a procession of her relics through the streets of Paris averted a deadly epidemic of ergot poisoning.
You can honor St. Genevieve’s vocation with a nod to Sts. Germanus (see pp. 121–22) and Lupus of Troyes (see p. 236)—one should never pass up an opportunity to enjoy St-Germain liqueur. Or, since St. Genevieve is the patroness of the City of Light, mix yourself a delightfully flavorful Paris Cocktail.
Paris Cocktail
¾ oz. gin
¾ oz. Grand Marnier
½ oz. cherry liqueur (Cherry Heering etc.)
½ oz. lemon juice
Pour ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Wine
In the saint’s homeland, Domaine de Vignes du Maynes in Burgundy makes a well-regarded Ste. Geneviève sparkling wine in white and rosé. In the United States, Sainte Genevieve Winery is a family-owned business in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri (the oldest French settlement west of the Mississippi), that makes quality wine in small lots. The Ste. Genevieve Wines of Fort Stockton, Texas, on the other hand, will probably be a more accessible alternative. Ste. Genevieve is the largest of Texas’s fifty-four wineries and has received a number of awards on the state, national, and international levels.
LAST CALL
To St. Genevieve: May she protect us from today’s barbarians.
ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON, JANUARY 4
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774–1821) came from a prominent family of New York Episcopalians and married the import trader William Magee Seton at the age of nineteen. When William suffered bankruptcy and then contracted tuberculosis, he and Elizabeth traveled to Italy at the advice of his doctors, but he died not long after their arrival. It was William’s Italian business partners who introduced Elizabeth to Catholicism, and upon her return to the United States she converted. She was received into the Church at St. Peter’s in New York, the only Catholic church in the city at the time, and was later confirmed by the Right Reverend John Carroll, the only bishop in the nation. Elizabeth tried to start an academy for young ladies, but parents withdrew their children from it when they discovered she was Catholic. Eventually she founded a Catholic school for the poor in Baltimore and in this way began the Catholic parochial school system. She also established a religious community called the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland. St. Elizabeth died of tuberculosis at the age of forty-six.
We like Mother Seton a lot, but we couldn’t help but notice that her family and her husband’s family as well were British loyalists during the Revolutionary War. With a nod to this history—and in the hopes that St. Elizabeth has a sense of humor—we honor her today with a cocktail known as the Benedict Arnold. At least the Bénédictine liqueur is Catholic.
Benedict Arnold
1½ oz. scotch
½ oz. Bénédictine
Pour into an old fashioned glass filled with ice and stir until cold.
Another option, in keeping with the Twelve Days of Christmas, is to have a punch or mulled wine mixed with the liqueur St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram. St. Elizabeth is a rum flavored with allspice, a complex berry that already has hints of Christmastime spices such as clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. If one of your guests suggests that this liqueur is probably not named after today’s St. Elizabeth, glare at him and take away his drink.
January 5 is the twelfth day of Christmas, and hence the evening of January 5 is known as Twelfth Night. Exploiting a precedent set by the Roman Saturnalia, the Twelve Days of Christmas are a giddy imitation of the ultimate role reversal, when Almighty God became a helpless infant in order to become our suffering servant. Topsy-turvy customs were common during the Twelve Days, such as servants dressing as masters and men and women cross-dressing. This was especially true during the grand finale of the Christmas celebrations, Twelfth Night. Shakespeare’s play by that name, believed to have been written as a Christmastime entertainment, gives many a nod to these gender-bending customs.
Tonight, enjoy any of the drinks of the Epiphany (see pp. 390–92) on this its vigil, but do so while decked in the raiment of the opposite sex.
* Francis X. Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs (New York: Harcourt, Brace, & World, 1958), 130.
** The four knights, who were excommunicated, were eventually readmitted to the Church on condition that they serve fourteen years in the Crusades.
*** From Evelyn Vitz, A Continual Feast (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1991), 159.
**** John Zmirak, The Bad Catholic’s Guide to Good Living (New York: Crossroad, 2005), 214.
