News from firefly grill

Reaping the Harvest

When most of us think November we're probably not thinking about festivals. But November just happens to be the month that worldwide, has more festivals than any other.

Why so many you ask? Well it's simple - they surround the en firefly dock

d of the harvest season, the culmination of the life cycle for many cultures. Starting with the celebration of saints on All Saints Day on November 1, the month is chock full of celebrations, most of which revolve around food. All Souls Day on November 2 remembers those who have departed this world for another. Before Reformation, poor Christians offered prayers for the dead in exchange for Soul Cakes, a small flat cake made of milk, butter, sugar, egg and spices, sprinkled lightly with powdered sugar.

November 11 marks Martinmas Day in Great Britain, a time when farm laborers would seek new posts, celebrated with feasts and hiring fairs. It was the custom for farmers to provide a cakes-and-ale feasts for workers. The ale, well, that's self-explanatory. But the cakes were known as Hopper Cakes, special cakes made from just-harvested seeds and whole grains. Beef, traditionally slaughtered in the month of November, was the day's traditional meat dish.

November 30th is the Feast of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. But that doesn't mean it's just celebrated in Scotland...in Germany it's Andreasnacht ("St. Andrew's Night"), in Austria with the custom of Andreasgebet ("St. Andrew's Prayer"), and in Poland as Andrzejki ("Andrews"). Folklore in many countries ties prayers to St. Andrew on November 29 to a girl's ability to see her future husband. firefly dock

A traditional meal to celebrate St. Andrew would be, well, a singed sheep's head, but we're happy to report that the traditional meal has evolved to anything Scottish, with haggis, neeps and tatties being the most popular dishes. And in Christian countries, St. Andrew's Day marks the beginning of the Christmas market.

And of course, the most well-known, modern harvest festival is Thanksgiving. Celebrated in the U.S. and Canada (in October), our Thanksgiving actually began as a harvest celebration in October 1621 when the Pilgrims set aside a day to celebrate their successful harvest. What was known as Thanksgiving to the English was a common day of prayer, not a day of feasting. firefly dock

Our traditional feast actually began sometime between September 21 and November 11, 1623, when following a drought, the pilgrims prayed for rain. Which came, right as they were praying. So Governor William Bradford ordered his men to hunt in order to host a feast to give thanks, which included the 53 surviving Pilgrims, Wampanoag Chief Massasoit and 90 of his men. The Indians brought deer, the colonists provided wildfowl, turkey and fish, and the feast lasted for three days, marking the beginning of the Thanksgiving holiday as we know it.

This year leave the cooking to us with Firefly Thanksgiving-to-Go! Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy and delectable desserts...all cooked and ready to be picked up on Thanksgiving Day. No mess, no fuss - make your Thanksgiving easy! Call and order yours today 217-342-2002 or visit www.ffgrill.com.