[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Christmas Customs of Volhynians

Thu Dec 6 11:49:14 PST 2007

Greg,

We also had strings of popcorn.  Our popcorn was popped over an open fire in 
the fireplace.  The corn kernels were put in a holder at the end of a long 
stick.  The lid slid back so the kernels could be poured in.  It was made of 
screen, like that used on a screen door.  You would put it over the fire and 
keep shaking is so it would not burn.

Some old memories are coming back as a result of these stories.

Bill
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greg Mason" <gmason001 at comcast.net>
To: "ehaas3" <ehaas3 at cox.net>
Cc: <GVLESS at aol.com>; <ger-poland-volhynia at eclipse.sggee.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 4:38 PM
Subject: Re: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Christmas Customs of Volhynians

> For success in stringing popcorn:  Make sure the popcorn kernals are
> fresh and moist, thereby providing large popped pieces.  We always
> popped it in a fry pan with a lid instead of an electric corn
> popper.  You can control the results better with a pan.    Use only
> the largest of the popped ones for stringing (and eat the rest)  and
> use a thin needle and a narrow gauge string.  Its a tedious process,
> but after a couple of beers and a couple of hours, you'll have a
> respectable string for decorating the tree.
>
> Greg Mason
> On Dec 5, 2007, at 5:10 PM, ehaas3 wrote:
>
>> I would guess that the garlands made from small strips of paper and
>> pasted
>> together with homemade paste were one of the decorations.  We also had
>> strung popcorn. . . how they did it I sure don't know as I have
>> tried and it
>> breaks apart, but I remember it on our trees.
>>
>> Eleanor Haas
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <GVLESS at aol.com>
>> To: <ger-poland-volhynia at eclipse.sggee.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 1:54 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Christmas Customs of Volhynians
>>
>>
>>> My husband's mother always had goose for Christmas and stuffed with a
>>> delicious fruit and bread dressing that he recalls tasted so
>>> good.  His
>>> sisters
>>> tried for years after his parents died to try to resurrect the
>>> recipe  for
>>> such a
>>> dressing but could not bring up the right taste or texture to
>>> whatever
>>> they
>>> put together.  I would assume this was something my husband's
>>> mother's
>>> remembers her parents doing when living in Heimtal, Volhynia.
>>> When we
>>> visited the
>>> area in 1993 we noted geese were always prominent in the  village
>>> as well
>>> as
>>> many kinds of fruit trees.  So will have to assume this  was
>>> important to
>>> what
>>> the family of long ago may have had at the holiday  time.  But do
>>> not know
>>> for
>>> sure of course since our ancestors no longer are  with us.  Does
>>> anyone
>>> really know just what type of food was served in  those ancestral
>>> years?
>>>
>>> Did our Volhynian ancestors even had a decorated tree of any
>>> sort?  My
>>> husband says it was his responsibility as a youth when living on
>>> a farm
>>> in
>>> Nebraska to scout the pasture area for just the right kind of
>>> tree  that
>>> looked like
>>> an evergreen so he could cut it down at holiday time and bring  it
>>> home
>>> for
>>> decorating with mostly homemade ornaments.  But what they were  I no
>>> longer have
>>> any idea.  Were some that reminded the family of their  former
>>> home in
>>> Volhynia, or not?  Were any food items made in those years  taken
>>> from
>>> their time
>>> they lived in Russia Poland?  I guess I am looking  for insight to
>>> those
>>> very
>>> early years in the family history, not particularly  what they may
>>> have
>>> eventually done when in America.  I am sure some of the
>>> traditions were
>>> carry-overs
>>> and some were developed as they absorbed their new  life here.  My
>>> husband
>>> said
>>> he remembered well when a small child singing  with his brothers and
>>> sisters
>>> Silent Night in German at the Christmas program in  their Lutheran
>>> church
>>> in
>>> Nebraska.  Because of his strong German  heritage I chose as a
>>> special
>>> number
>>> at his Memorial Service in 2003 Silent  Night being sung in
>>> German.  It
>>> was a
>>> special treat to hear once again that  song in the old language of
>>> our
>>> forefathers.  Of course, no one there at  the time knew the
>>> language any
>>> more but I
>>> was determined to help the newer  generations have some idea of
>>> the German
>>> language of long ago.
>>>
>>> My husband's mother always made as a special treat for us when we
>>> came to
>>> visit whether at holiday time or not of her recipe of
>>> "coffeekuchen".  It
>>> was
>>> one thing she could still do even in her older years for us.  I have
>>> German
>>> background thru my Volga Deutsch grandparents as well as thru my
>>> grandparents
>>> that came over from Germany itself.  But they were gone before  I
>>> could
>>> really
>>> appreciate my heritage or know much about it.  So am anxious  to
>>> hear what
>>> others are willing to share on this list serv what they recall
>>> from  their
>>> family
>>> traditions - and of course, if any show a direct connection to the
>>> Volhynian
>>> and Polish homelands.  Thank you for doing so as writing the  family
>>> history
>>> does need more than just statistical data.
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>> Virginia Less
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
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