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→Christmas Foods and Drinks
==Christmas Foods and Drinks==
The origin of eggnog is unclear but the best records indicate that English aristocracy or wealthy land owners use to drink a drink similar to eggnog, which contained milk, eggs, and sherry during the time of Christmas to celebrate prosperity in the previous year and the years to come. Eggnog had ingredients that were well beyond the means of most people so the drink was meant to be a toast to prosperity. In the US colonies, it began to become popular during the 18th century when wine and other liquors were taxed, but rum was not. Thus, rum began to be a popular alcoholic addition to the an egg and milk mix.
The fruit cake in a modern usage was used as early as the 19th century in Victorian England, where it became popular with the royal family and then the tradition spread to British society and culture, eventually arriving in the US. The tradition, however, may stem from at least the Roman period, when a plum, raisin, and nut recipe is known to have existed, perhaps used in times of celebration.
Christmas pudding likely started its origin as a savory food in England in the Medieval period that included stuffing the meat and pudding into a stomach of a sheep used to wrap the finished product. In the 18th century, plum began to be used to help make it a sweet dish to be made before Christmas and then served on Christmas day. It may have become popularised in Christmas as King George I was described as requesting a pudding made for Christmas and the use of a plum pudding during that time helped associated the pudding with Christmas in subsequent years.
==Other Traditions Around the World==