By Jacquie Foote It didnt matter much whether you lived…
By Jacquie Foote It didnt matter much whether you lived in the country, a small town or the city, Christmas dinners during the Great Depression…
By Jacquie Foote
It didnt matter much whether you lived in the country, a small town or the city, Christmas dinners during the Great Depression were most likely to center around chicken and dressing. Ham came in second place and was more likely to appear on the table in rural areas where people raised hogs for winter meat. In areas where wild turkeys could be found, some hunted for the main attraction on the Christmas dining table. In cities, especially, ham, beef and turkey were considered too expensive.
A traditionally important meal such as Christmas dinner meant enough food on the table to satisfy those sitting around. During the Depression, most people shared resources to get a meal like this. The most common way to do this was by gathering at a relative’s house. People would bring a dish to pass or a food that would become a part of one of the courses … like eggs, bread or onions for the dressing.
In Geaugas rural areas, if someone raised chickens, that person would bring the meat course and maybe a few eggs for the dressing or cakes. Ladies carefully considered their store of home canned foods and contributed a jar of corn or peas or carrots. Potatoes were among the most popular vegetable to bring as most people raised them and stored them in the root cellar over winter. Squash appeared at table. Onions were raised and dried for winter use. They were valued at the big meal for the many dishes that needed them.
Flour or cornmeal rolls or biscuits were home baked and, if the one who brought them had a beehive or a sugar bush, they would likely be sweetened by honey or maple syrup instead of the more expensive sugar. In Geauga, dessert often included something made with apples … pie, cake or crisp … as most families had at least one apple tree.
There would also likely be a guest or two at table, so people with little or no family nearby could share the bounty. All in all, the Geauga Christmas dinner consisted of rolls, chicken and dressing, gravy, vegetables and a simple dessert or two, which could include homemade ice cream. Often tea rather than coffee was served, as there were several mints that could be grown around here that made a refreshing tea, whereas coffee had to be purchased at a store.
In towns, there were also family gatherings, many of which included friends. In addition, church ladies prepared and served Christmas dinners using the foods members of their congregation were able to donate. Most churches also packed up boxes of food to leave at the homes of those having an especially hard time. As in the country, the foods you ate were those on hand or from near by. Exotic foods were a rarity due to expense.
In cities, when no relatives were near, city dwellers often gathered by neighborhoods or by apartment buildings to share what they had to make as much of a feast that they could. City churches and civic organizations operated soup kitchens that often provided a simple meal containing more than just soup at Christmas. Sometimes restaurants made their leftovers or past date foods available and stores gave away rather than threw away aged fruits and vegetables. You could just cut away the bad part and use the good.
Just as significant as the Christmas dinner itself was what happened to the leftovers. Chicken bones, drippings and leftover meat became soup. The leftover vegetables and gravy were put into the pot also. Nothing was wasted. Leftover rolls became breadcrumbs or croutons for the soup.
Now … what did Santa bring?
For information on the events at the Geauga County Historical Society’s Century Village Museum, call 440-834-1492 or visit www.geaugahistorical.org.
