Cake mixing heralds Christmas season
The Hindu
After a long break, when the pandemic restricted gathering of people, cake mixing ceremony which heralds the Christmas season, was conducted on the lawns of Hotel Amika on Ring Road in Madurai on Mond
After a long break, when the pandemic restricted gathering of people, cake mixing ceremony which heralds the Christmas season, was conducted on the lawns of Hotel Amika on Ring Road in Madurai on Monday.
Cake mixing is a ritual performed to welcome happiness of Christmas and prosperity in the New Year. Fruits - raisins, glazed red cherries, orange peel, tutti-frutti, black currants, dates, dried apricots, figs and prunes; nuts - walnuts, cashew, almond flakes and pistachio; and spices - ground cardamom, cinnamon and cloves - these all went into a huge cauldron.
Bottles and bottles of golden syrup, molasses, honey and vanilla essence were poured into the mix while masked faces with gloved hands kneaded the concoction. The cake mixing ceremony is a community event. The highlight was when Santa Claus arrived and joined the party to the sound of jingle bells, because the joy of man is the joy of God.