The $2 Tradition

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Reading about Badaunt's New Year tradition has reminded me of a New Years tradition that was part of my family for a very long time - I think because her descriptions of Okaasan trying to feed everyone up remind me a little of my grandmother.

On New Years Eve, my grandmother would bake a sweet-bread type cake with a $2 coin in it. On New Years Day, all of the family would go to her house and the cake would be cut into slices. One slice for the house, one slice for the whole family, and then one slice for each family member. If the coin was in your slice of cake, that meant that you would be blessed with good luck in the New Year. It also meant that you were $2 richer, which I guess is a nice way of starting your lucky year. Pity you can't bake a $100 note into a cake...

My grandmother passed away a couple of years ago and since then we haven't had a New Years cake. She was the traditional one in the family and the cook, so after she died, the tradition did too. As the cook, she was always trying to feed people up and she would never let you leave without having eaten an enormous meal and taking a parcel of food with you. She cooked a lot of traditional foods that everyone loved and that we miss now that she's gone and no one else knows her recipes. New Years always reminds me of her telling me to eat more, and of the big smile she would have after you had gorged yourself silly on her cooking.

2 comments:

Badaunt said...

This makes me feel a little sad. I moan about Okaasan pressing food on me, but when she is gone, who will care if I don't stuff myself silly?

At least The Man knows how to prepare most of it. . .

torrygirl said...

There are a few things that we still know how to make, although it's never quite the same when someone else prepares the food. I think maybe it's because you associate the personality with the flavour of the food, so it always seems like some ingredient is missing.

Wow, this is a bit depressing, isn't it? Sorry! I didn't mean it to be. They are all happy memories, even though I miss the real thing sometimes.

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