Tradition… tradition!
(cue the “Fiddler on the Roof” music)
No matter where you live or what family you come from, traditions will always be present. Having spent the last couple of decades in southern France, we have had the opportunity of observing and participating in a host of events that help mark time in our part of the world. As we come into the Christmas season, I thought I would open our door and allow you to peek into an area tradition that we wholeheartedly embrace & enjoy.
Christmas Eve
In France, Christmas dinner is served on December 24 (Le Réveillon de Noël) and is a tradition in and of itself. It will last for hours into the night! The meal provides the hostess an opportunity to lavishly display her most delicious specialities for the entire family to see.
However here in the South, the long meal is followed by the observance of serving a variety of 13 desserts. These “Les Treize Desserts” symbolizes Christ with His 12 disciples.
That’s right. Count them! Thirteen desserts to choose from! They will range from a mixture of nuts, berries, nougat, pastries to the capstone piece being the “Bûche de Noël. (The bûche will be this delicious rolled sponge cake filled with various flavors of cream and then topped with icing that will make it look like a Yule log for the fireplace.)
Overwhelmed, would be probably the right word at this point of the evening! 😉
The Best of 13
But among these 13 desserts, there is one that always captures our attention. It is not the flashy mousses or pastries that do us in. No, it happens to be the unpretentious chocolate disk called the “mendiant.”
This little chocolate sensation has its origins going all the way back to the Middle Ages. The mediant represented the various monastic orders and the colored robes the monks would wear. Here where we live, one will normally see an almond, a hazelnut and a pistachio on the top of this delicious disk.
Interestingly, the translation for “mendiant” in English is “beggar.” The monks would live a charity-based lifestyle and this traditional morsel has lived on throughout the generations, representing their commitments.
In fact, that’s the whole point of the entire Christmas story –
our desperate need & our Savior’s lavish love.
Our Desperate Need & God’s Lavish Love
For me, I gladly stand in line to take part in embracing this yearly tradition of buying the Christmas mediant!
In fact, as I bring them home I reflect that I too, am like a beggar. To be extremely honest with myself, I actually can bring nothing to the “table” of life to provide for my future eternity. Instead, it draws me to think of my God’s generous love for me. He left the throne room of heaven to come here to earth as a baby. The soul purpose of this act of love was so that one day we could live for all of eternity in His presence.
Yes, I will gladly relate to the analogy of this mendiant or beggar who freely & wholeheartedly rushes to the Father’s feet to receive His mercy and grace. In fact, that’s the whole point of the entire Christmas story –
our desperate need & our Savior’s lavish love.
So as I sit sipping my afternoon coffee & finishing off my Christmas mendiant I think, “Traditions are never out-of-date or even boring when they involve spiritual reflection & and just a bit of chocolate!”
