Tagged With: Samuel Pepys
The van Aken brothers’ Christmas – Part 2
Early Christmas pudding Recipes The seventeenth century diarist Samuel Pepys wrote that he ate ‘…… mess of brave plum-porridge’[i] as part of his Christmas dinner in 1662. Its less festive name was Barley Gruel, which was a mixture of: 50g (2oz) pearl barley, 25g (1oz) currents, 25g (1oz) raisins, 2.5ml (half teaspoon) ground mace Stirred into 1.1 lt … Continue reading
Categories: 18th Century, Festivals and Customs, How we write, Legacies
Tags: 18th century receipes, Christmas pudding, plum porridge, plum pottage, Samuel Pepys, Van Aken
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The van Aken brothers’ Christmas – Part 1
As Christmas approaches I am wondering how the van Aken brothers, Arnold, Joseph and Alexander, would have spent the Holy day; what rituals and traditions were typical in the first half of the eighteenth century. I know that the glorious, highly decorated evergreen trees lit by tiny twinkling candles, families gathered around roaring fires and … Continue reading
Categories: 18th Century, Festivals and Customs, How we write, Legacies
Tags: 18th Century Christmas, Antwerp, Christmas Carols, Samuel Pepys, Van Aken
Comments Off on The van Aken brothers’ Christmas – Part 1