Merry Dionysmas In Ancient Greece, December 25th (or more accurately the 25th of Skirophorion) was much like any other day. Jesus wasn’t even a twinkle in Anyone’s eye and Santa’s ancestors weren’t even Vikings yet. So how did the ancient Greeks celebrate Christmas? Well, they didn’t obviously. But thanks to their multi-god belief system, they had plenty of things to celebrate on the 25th of Skirophorion. If the celebration of Athena wasn’t enough, you could easily break open a cask and drink to Dionysus, the god of wine and celebration. This Christmas, add another tradition to your holiday gathering with the Merry Dionysmas Mulled Wine. Keep a pot of red wine warm on the stove with a merry assortment of Christmas spices to keep the embers glowing in your holiday heart. INGREDIENTS: 1 magnum (1.5L) of red wine 6 oz of brandy ½ cup of runny honey 1 Tbsp coriander 5 cloves 2 sticks of cinnamon 1 orange, peeled PROCEDURE: Pour the honey, brandy and wine into a large pot and place over medium low heat. Put a lid on it, so it heats up faster. Don’t boil it on high or all the booze will evaporate. You can leave it on the stove once it is warm for a couple hours on low heat, which makes it ideal for open house parties. Combine all the spices in a disposable loose-leaf tea-bag, like a Bouquet Garni. Place the bouquet into the wine and allow it to steep for at least 10 minutes, but don’t leave it in there longer than 1 hour. If you are still drinking it after an hour, just remove the flavour pouch and carry on drinking. Serve mulled wine directly from the pot into mugs or goblets as desired.

Merry Dionysmas

In Ancient Greece, December 25th (or more accurately the 25th of Skirophorion) was much like any other day. Jesus wasn’t even a twinkle in Anyone’s eye and Santa’s ancestors weren’t even Vikings yet.

So how did the ancient Greeks celebrate Christmas? Well, they didn’t obviously. But thanks to their multi-god belief system, they had plenty of things to celebrate on the 25th of Skirophorion. If the celebration of Athena wasn’t enough, you could easily break open a cask and drink to Dionysus, the god of wine and celebration.

This Christmas, add another tradition to your holiday gathering with the Merry Dionysmas Mulled Wine. Keep a pot of red wine warm on the stove with a merry assortment of Christmas spices to keep the embers glowing in your holiday heart.

INGREDIENTS:

1 magnum (1.5L) of red wine

6 oz of brandy

½ cup of runny honey

1 Tbsp coriander

5 cloves

2 sticks of cinnamon

1 orange, peeled

PROCEDURE:

Pour the honey, brandy and wine into a large pot and place over medium low heat. Put a lid on it, so it heats up faster. Don’t boil it on high or all the booze will evaporate. You can leave it on the stove once it is warm for a couple hours on low heat, which makes it ideal for open house parties.

Combine all the spices in a disposable loose-leaf tea-bag, like a Bouquet Garni. Place the bouquet into the wine and allow it to steep for at least 10 minutes, but don’t leave it in there longer than 1 hour. If you are still drinking it after an hour, just remove the flavour pouch and carry on drinking.

Serve mulled wine directly from the pot into mugs or goblets as desired.

Notes

  1. abbeyhotel posted this