90 Round like a doughnut, or better still like the turban of a Kugelhupf, also in 2012 the eternal comeback is turning the calendar leaves till the fateful December 25, bending the rule of history ever since the night of times. Almost as if it wanted to freeze the airy flipping of pages into an eternal moment. After all, habits haven’t changed much since the ancients celebrated Mithra, feasting the winter solstice with an irrefutable scientific precision. That same Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, when the fire ball seemed to stop abruptly to smile again at man, making the days grow longer, reducing the silence of the night. Rites the third millennium keeps as an oblivious and yet pervicacious inheritance, often attached to the tines of a small dessert fork exploring history’s crannies with archaeological expertise. The recipe of the Christmas cake is a tangled recipe, braided as it is with folklore, metaphysics and pantry materiality. And what’s more, up to interclass, because every community shares the same meal for one night, it is its sweet epilogue. History begins with the shopping list: honey (almost always) instead of sugar, only introduced in European eating habits after the discovery of the West Indies. And the unusual “abstinence” ingredients, with oil used instead of butter and milk for religious reasons (the citizens of Dresden had to wait for the “Butterbrief ” or “Butter Letter” signed by
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Every community shares the same meal for one night
pope Innocent VIII in 1490 before they could benefit of a special concession for the preparation of the Christstollen, even though the privilege was granted only to the Prince-elector who raised the question). Also the symbology linked to the feast remains. Like the steady presence of yellow, typical of the dough turning gold in the oven after being brushed with egg yolk, and above all evocative of the sun, to invoke the return of its light (the Romans used corn flour with this aim when they celebrated Mithra), and also the circular shape, linked with the old cult of the solstice. As is the case with Italian typical Christmas cakes, panettone and pandoro, as well as the American pumpkin pie, the Ukrainian kolach, the Portuguese bolo rei and the above-mentioned Kugelhupf. The chthonic reference comes back, reproducing the contrast between light and receding night. This explains also the frequent presence of almonds, a season’s fruit available in large quantities, that represent the return of the spring, since this tree is the first to blossom, as well as symbolising the renewal of nature thanks to the egg shape associated to Christ for the similitude with the eye and the fish. As the Messiah, who brought the light, was born in the darkness of a cave, so the white fruit is hidden in the hollows of the dough. A purpouse shared by a diversity of ingredients, all of good omen for the new beginning at the gate. The most symbolic
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