Dec 21 2008
Christmas Eve Dinner
What were people eating for Christmas Eve dinner the night before Jesus was born? It’s an interesting question. I did some research and found that they most definitely were eating bread. It’s thought that bread made up 50% of their diet. In case the thought of eating that much bread gives you visions of spare tire rolls around your midsection, consider how much physical labor they did in those days.
In elimination of certain foods, there were no tomatoes, potatoes, peppers or corn. Those all originated in the Americas. With “kashrus” (Jewish dietary law) we know they didn’t eat shellfish, pork or any hunted animal. However, the normal diet of that time in the Middle East probably included: Wheat (bread, unleavened or with a sort of sourdough starter), olive oil, herbs, legumes and dried figs. If they had availability to meat, it was probably mutton, goat or lamb and perhaps chickens, geese, pigeons and ducks. They had milk (and butter) from sheep and goat milk. Perhaps they even had a hard cheese, but it wouldn’t have been a large part of their diet.
They ate herbs and probably vegetables, but were they cultivated or wild? And there was wine, we know that from the bible. That means they had grapes and also fish. Dates and figs were eaten, but dried much of the time for travel or transport. Archeologists have found traces of fruit trees, peaches, pears, pomegranates and apples. They also found walnut, carob, almond and pistachio tree remnants. They used hone and date syrup for sweeteners.
A great new Christmas tradition would be to have a spread of foods that may have been eaten in the Middle East during the time of Jesus.
