Holiday Traditions, New and Old

Inspired by the Great British Bake Off and a partially used canister of whipped cream in the refrigerator left over from an ice cream social, I went looking for a recipe for soft gingerbread to make for breakfasts this week. We don't keep molasses in the house (do you?), so I substituted maple syrup. It was a nice dark variety, and since I'm not such a big fan of hard gingerbread, I thought it was an inspired choice.

Later on, we happened to pass by the famous life-sized creche in downtown Pittsburgh. I had known it existed but nothing else about it. While discussing the Christmas stories in the Gospels the next morning at Sunday School, I learned about its interesting history. You see, there had been a creche on the grand staircase in the Allegheny Courthouse, and a Christmas tree, menorah, and "liberty" sign in the portico of the City-County Building. The ACLU objected over the Establishment Clause, and the Supreme Court eventually ruled in 1989 that the tree and menorah cancelled each other out, but the creche had to go.

Despite all that, the Christian Leaders Fellowship put up a creche--on what was officially city land--in 1996. In 1998, city leaders sensibly decided it couldn't be displayed there. Eventually they found a sponsor in a businessman who had traveled to Rome a few years earlier and was so inspired by the nativity scene at St. Peter's Basilica, that he got permission to duplicate the 64-foot-wife, 42-foot-high, 36-foot-long stable and its figures (there are 20 people, animals, and angels). It is erected in the plaza at the foot of the U.S. Steel Tower (the one that has UPMC in big letters at the top) in time for Light-Up Night in mid-November and taken down after Epiphany. 

What the lady in Bible study told us is that at one point the magis' robes were torn from the weather, and there weren't enough funds to repair or replace them, but the local Jewish community stepped in with money to help continue this display "for the glory of God," even though it is not their tradition.

I probably should have set the butter out sooner, as the batter was kind of lumpy, and the final product had butter spots. Surprisingly, it was not very sweet at all, and in fact I thought it needed the whipped cream. I asked Dear Husband to do his best Paul Hollywood impression and tell me whether the cake was "moist" or "underdone." He thought it could have used another 5 minutes in the oven, which means the recipe was 10-15 minutes shorter than I needed--perhaps the oven in our new house runs cool.  It had already caramelized the edges the way some people like their brownies, so this cake must be done when the top is evenly browned. I look forward to trying this recipe again. In which case, we'll have to start keeping the fridge stocked with whipped cream...