Pfeffernusse - A Small Christmas Tradition
From LeAnn Burkholder, CMI Board Member
(Note: Each link below goes to a different Pfeffernusse recipe!)
There is a tiny Christmas cookie, distinctly German, incredibly portable, shelf-stable & shippable. It has been a part of our family for years, a nod to our heritage, and a bond in the present connecting us across the miles.
This tradition was revived in my family the year I turned 11 after I hounded my mother with questions about our meager holiday celebrations and the romantic idea I had uncovered in the books I read about special Christmas traditions. She answered that the only thing we do is special Christmas food. I wanted to know what food we did that was special and significant at Christmas time, she sighed and answered, “Well, we always make homemade rolls, turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, and fresh cranberry salad, and we make a bunch of different cookies.”
I wasn’t satisfied, “But a special Christmas food? something that we only eat at the Holidays. We eat all those foods at other times of the year, except for cranberry.” But surely cranberry didn’t count as the one special thing. It couldn’t be! Maybe there is one special cookie only for Christmas? That night my Daddy got all my questions, and he said he thought his great-grandma had a special cookie she made only for Christmas, and after she died, his grandma started making them just at Christmas time. He didn’t think his mother ever made them but he would ask her next week. The next Saturday grandma said it was probably Pfeffernusse, a tiny little German cookie but she didn’t know what became of the recipe after great-grandma died.
Undaunted, I badgered my mother relentlessly until we went to the library in search of a recipe, and just after Thanksgiving, I made 3 different varieties of Pfeffernusse that I had carefully copied out of the borrowed cookbooks in the previous weeks. I proudly served them each to my dad asking him which one was most like what great-grandma made. He said they were all good, I should just pick the one I liked best. For the next several years I would try different recipes each year hoping that one day he would say, “Ahah, this is great-grandma’s recipe!” I am sure my Dad had no idea how much I wanted to hear those words. He truly did love every variation. Possibly, I am still looking for the elusive perfection, as I still rotate different Pfeffernusse recipes--and they are all delicious. The most important part is the shape, crunch, and burst of spicy wintery flavors.
I was asked to make Pfeffernusse throughout the year and would refuse, telling each of my younger siblings that it was a very special Christmas tradition and that these cookies could only be made between November and Christmas Day, and so this Christmas tradition wove it’s way back into the fabric of our family history. My eight siblings think we always made them, forever and ever way back to great, great, great-grandma because that is the story I told them when they sat beside me on the counter or stood on the little step stool to help stir the dough. It makes me happy to know that this little piece of history was rescued and kept alive in our family.
Today as I mix a double batch of Pfeffernusse dough, my heart aches with the loss of both my parents within the space of 14 months. There is never an age when one is ready to be an orphan. I don’t feel wise enough to fill the role that is now mine.
Our family is not perfect. There is pain, brokenness, imperfection, and a lot that I wish I could heal and change. But this year, I will again make sure that this little tradition is not forgotten. I will make these cookies in my father’s memory, sharing the story of our great, great grandmothers and this old German tradition with siblings, nieces, nephews, children, and now my daughter-in-law. In small ways, we tie little things of the past to those of the future, savoring the memories and creating new ones.
It is easy to feel like we need to do something big to make a difference, create memories, and fix big problems. This can keep us from doing the little things within our reach.
Pick something you want to cherish as a Christmas tradition. Sift through what you have, go further back beyond your own experience and find something worth taking with you. It doesn’t need to be big or costly; it is probably better if your 11-year-old can carry on the tradition.
And remember, make time to rest and prepare your body and mind amid the holiday rush.
In Formation of Character, pp. 109-10, Mason reminds us:
“There is a shade of anxiety in the mother’s face as she plans for the holidays. The brunt of domestic difficulties falls, necessarily, upon her.” So mothers should try to arrange for some quiet time of “rest for body and mind, and for such spiritual refreshment as may be, to prepare them for the exhausting (however delightful) strain of the holidays.”
Simplicity is beautiful and small things are enough.
Blessings of peace and joy from my home to yours this Christmas Season.
Does your family have a traditional holiday recipe? Please share it in the comments of this Fabulous Friday post–and/or in the “Recipes” circle in the Hive.
Notes
1. Advent: CMI has created an “Advent for All” series you are welcome to use yourself and share with friends and family. Click the links to see Week 1 - “Hope in Beginnings”, Week 2 - “Waiting for Peace, and Week 3 - “The Coming of Joy”.
2. Christmas Books: In case you missed it, here is the Amazon list of favorite Christmas books from your fellow Alveary members and the Alveary team.
3. A New Book List: The Washington Post published this list of 99 books for building a “delightful library”. It includes contributions from CMI Board Member Amber O’Neal Johnston. Enjoy combing through the list, but be aware that book suggestions were made by many contributors.
Query
1. Reading Readiness: What should I be doing with my children to encourage their relationship with books and reading before they reach the age to start formal lessons ?
In this video Lisa Cadora has many great suggestions for pre-literacy activities and for creating a reading environment. The “Kinderleben” appendix on p. 146 of the Alveary Member Tutorial provides even more ideas regarding literacy preparedness.
