A bit about Traditional Christmas Foods

Serving Christmas Pulla

I’m from Northern Ontario. Rural Sudbury, as a matter of fact.  Pretty much everyone I knew was Native, Finn or French Canadian… or a combination of the the three. There were other people- but I didn’t know them. Or at least, I didn’t know them well. 

I’ve been a resident of Southern Ontario for (gasp) 39 years, been with my partner who is French Canadian for 24 years. Did I adapt all his cultural traditions from Montreal, Quebec? … NOPE.  Well, some - but it’s all about what I call mine.  I do the cooking. I am the Mom. 

Every cultural background has their traditional food - Finns have Pulla Bread. It’s yeasty and tastes of cardamom. It takes forever to make, is messy but takes up enough hours to make it a ritualistic exercise in custom and seasonal belief. Even when it dries up (as it will shortly) I feed it to the birds. That’s my seasonal custom. 

Gather Ingredients 

Let it rise

Extra Points if Kids look Finn

Divide into loaves

Dynamics of family change.  What remains? Family tradition and Christmas food. One day my children will (hopefully) remember My Pulla and Christmas meals, as I remember my Moumma’s. (Grandmother’s).

My Christmas Pulla

Glaze