“Why Eggnog at Christmas?”

    At Christmas time it is traditional to have the tree, the lights and of course the missile toe. But what about the traditional foods and drinks that comes with Christmas? In my family eggnog, one very well known traditional drink, is celebrated with Christmas. With its delicious flavor one cannot resist the taste. But many may ask why eggnog at Christmas? It has been going on for many years, but what is really the true meaning of having eggnog at Christmas time?

Drinking eggnog at Christmas is believed to go back as far as the early 1600s. Eggnog actually was a beverage that was common to the upper class in England during the 1800s. Eggnog, originally made with "nog," strong ale, and related to an English drink called "sack posset," which was made from a dry Spanish wine, eggs and cream, it was believe to be that eggnog at Christmas is a tradition that was brought to America from Europe. Some changes were made from the transaction of the eggnog; eggnog is related to various milk and wine punches. However, in America a new twist was put on the theme. Rum was used in the place of wine.

Like Lent, the 40 or so days before Easter, Advent, the 4 weeks before Christmas, is also a season of abstaining from many of the 'earthly' pleasures like rich foods. So in centuries past, there would have been a surplus of agricultural produce of eggs, cream, butter, etc. that could be consumed once Advent was over, that is, during the Christmas season, which, believe it or not, used to begin on Christmas day, not on the American Thanksgiving weekend.

Like mentioned before, eggnog contains things like eggs, cream and alcohol, previously in the form of beer or beer-like drinks, which would have been forbidden for the 4 weeks before Christmas Day. In addition, the fact that Christmas in most European and North American countries tend to be celebrated during the winter season, thick warming drinks would have been enjoyed more than long tall cool ones, like iced tea or beer.

Over all you can say that there are other popular drinks during the colder months such as hot cocoa or hot apple cider, but these drinks don't have a personality of their own the way eggnog does. Eggnog truly is a very social drink during the Christmas season. This Christmas when you drink a cup of eggnog, keep in mind the interesting history of the drink you learned about here. Sure, you'll still want to enjoy hot cocoa and apple cider, but Christmas just wouldn't be the same without a cup of eggnog