Ted mulls it over

… seems like around Halloween time as the weather gets a little colder we start getting a hankering for our alcoholic beverages to be heated up. By the time Christmas is near we’re well into the swing of hot seasonal and celebratory drinks and keeping our hands warm by wrapping them around a nice glass of mulled wine. “Mulled” means heated and spiced, and mulled wine itself dates back to the ancient Greeks, supposedly invented by none other than that famous Greek scientist and Father of Medicine, Hippocrates. He called his version “hippocras” (well he would wouldn’t he) and considered it to be a tonic.

Pretty much every country that drinks alcohol have their own version of mulled wine. In Germany its known as “gluhwein” and used to be served in a tankard and then a hot iron was poked into the tankard to heat the wine … thus “glow wine”. In the Nordic countries it’s called “glogg”, in Croatia and her neighbours you would ask for “kuhano vino”, in France “vin chaud”. In the Netherlands it’s “bishops wine” and on and on it goes. In Canada they call it “Caribou” and it’s a mixture of red wine, maple syrup and hard liquor – too many of those and you’d be seeing Caribou!!

This got me to thinking about what other hot drinks are traditionally associated with Christmas and the festive season. Hot chocolate and coffee drinks with liquor added, like the one from Ireland called “dead rabbit” that’s laden with Irish whiskey (and yes they do spell it with an “e”) are always popular. For some reason we seem to want to put butter into our hot drinks as well, like hot buttered rum and buttered beer - not to be mistaken for the Harry Potter favourite, Butter Beer which actually has no beer in it at all.

Thankfully we don’t put butter in that most classic of Christmas drinks “eggnog” … nope no butter just lashings of cream, booze and eggs – delicious. Mulled cider is a big favourite in the UK and it started life being called “wassail” (literally “be healthy”) and was traditionally drunk when “wassailing” (of course) which meant that you went to the apple orchards on the twelfth night of Christmas and sang to the cider apple trees to wake them up and scare off evil spirits, and then drank to their health with wassail.

 … after which you got on your Caribou and went home …

Winter Sunset

Kiener Plaza, late yesterday afternoon. Note the reflection in the building windows.

                 

Le Général de Gaulle

There's a large sculpture of General de Gaulle by Ousmane Sow in the inner courtyard of the Préfecture building!

La sculpture est d'Ousmane Sow et se trouve dans la cour intérieure de la préfecture.

Beware of devilish Krampus tonight!

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You surely recognize good St. Nicholas.
But do you recognize his opposite, the evil devil Krampus?
Every child in Austria knows about this demon, but I first learned of him only a few weeks ago when my hosts in Vienna gave me these chocolate figures and told me to eat Krampus -- the one with horns, chains, and claws -- only on December 6.
Dec. 6 is St. Nicholas Day but the night before is Krampusnacht, which looks to me to be a scary night to be out on the streets of Austria and some of the surrounding countries.
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I can't begin to explain it well, having never experienced it, so I ask you to read some of these really interesting articles (with great photos!).
BTW, apparently this year there is a spurt of interest in all this in America too!

An explanation from the Archdiocese of Vienna, in German:  Der Krampus hat mit dem Hl. Nikolaus eigentlich nichts zu tun

From National Geographic:
 Krampus the Christmas Devil Is Coming to More Towns. So Where's He From?

Another from National Geographic:   How Krampus, the Christmas ‘Devil,’ Became Cool

Official trailer for the new American horror-comedy movie "Krampus"
("Legendary Pictures’ Krampus, a darkly festive tale of a yuletide ghoul, reveals an irreverently twisted side to the holiday.
When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max (Emjay Anthony) is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.
All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family’s home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive")

Merisi Vienna's blog post: Saint Nicholas and Krampus: Were you naughty or nice? 

Bolzano Daily Photo, South Tyrol / Italy offers a short video (narrated in Ladin language!) of the actual festivities on Krampusnacht in the village of Urtijëi / St. Ulrich / Ortise.
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Good luck. Be good.  Watch out tonight!
And tomorrow, a happy St. Nicholas Day! 
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When You're Out Of New Material...

...you can always resort to pictures of grandchildren. These were taken at Madeleine, Emily and Brian's house last night. As with most kids these days, she is fascinated by electronic screens. She will watch my album of photos of her on Flickr over and over, as long as we let her. She also thinks it's funny to put on grandma's reading glasses.