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Nochebuena - Christmas Eve |
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| Canarian
Christmas Recipes A Canarian Christmas The Christmas Season Navidad/Christmas Day Day of the Innocent Saints Año Nuevo/New Year´s Eve |
Canarian cuisine at Christmas revolves around the sweet stuff, with Truchas de Batata (sweet potato pies) and a veritable mountain of fruit, nuts and sweets, especially polverones, turrones (see recipes) and mazapan (marzipan in various guises, especially figurines). All accompanied by Mistela liqueur. For the last few years I have spent Christmas Eve, Nochebuena, in 'El Pueblo', Canarian style. The typical fare has been barbecued meat with boiled potatoes and the special vegetable saved for the occasion are yams, though they are eaten with sugar or honey. If resources permit, a whole goat kid or suckling pig is preferable as tradition dictates that this meal should never contain fish. For many poor families here, Christmas Eve is one of the few celebration times when they will have any quantity of meat, so it is very simply prepared, quickly enjoyed and followed by the vast array of sweets mentioned above. Christmas Eve is when the Canarian family gets together, the celebration may go on quite late and they will probably start singing and playing Canarian music. It isn't traditionally a time for the exchanging of gifts. That comes later here, at Epiphany, or for the fortunate few it might be both. It used to be that the meal was served after attending the Misa de Gallo (Mass): the 24th being a day of fasting and abstinence, but that has tended to change around these days. The mass, at which carols are sung, being left out altogether by a large majority.
About the author: Pamela Heywood has been resident in Tenerife |
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