Season's Greetings from the Warren Center

Though we could not host a holiday party this year, we did have a small (virtual) social gathering of our various 2020-21 fellow cohorts, including a heady concentration of experts on American religious history. In the spirit of the season in which many people celebrate a range of holidays, we share with the wider community a few notes, some humorous, from that afternoon’s “Sip and Zoom.”  

• On the reading list: “Christmas in the United States” (or, “What is Christmas?”), by current faculty fellow Daniel Vaca, from the Oxford Handbook of Christmas
• Answers to the question “what’s your favorite holiday food” led to a discussion of how eating KFC is a Christmas tradition in Japan, how the new Mario-Lopez-starring Colonel Sanders Lifetime movie is a real thing, and why one of our fellows is planning a multi-generational viewing of said movie: “A Recipe for Seduction”
• Evidence that there are Hallmark holiday movie watchers (fans and foes alike) as well as Black Santa collectors in our Warren Center midst. Here’s more: How Hallmark Took Over Cable Television; Hallmark Christmas Movies Dominate; Black Santa Collectors Facebook Fan Page; Who Really Has The Largest Collection of Black Santas?
• Commentary on the oddity of holiday figurines of Santa bowing down to Jesus in the manger
• A friendly debate about the whys and wherefores of holiday inflatables: The Rise of Inflatables
• Lastly, no holiday-themed post would be complete without a recipe! Here’s ours, from postdoc, Sara Awartani:

      Mantecaditos ~ Adapted from Carmen Valldejuli’s Cocina Criolla Mantecaditos are classic Puerto Rican Christmas cookies. My mother and I have been making these together every Christmas since I was a little girl – I’m fairly confident there exists a photo of us together in the kitchen baking them, including me on a step stool so I could reach the bowl of batter. Traditionally, the cookies are topped with Maraschino cherries but, apparently, I refused to eat them that way, so our go-to is sprinkles.   Ingredients: ¼ lb (1 stick) unsalted butter, ½ cup vegetable shortening, ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 2 ¼ cup AP flour, red and green sprinkles   Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a bowl, cream together the butter and vegetable shortening.
3. Add the sugar and almond extract, mixing until well combined.
4. On low speed, slowly add the flour. Mix just until incorporated.
5. Take mixture by teaspoonfuls and, using your hands, roll into balls.
6. On an ungreased baking sheet, arrange the cookies. Press each ball gently with your thumb to create an indent. Add sprinkles into indentation.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until slightly golden.

    Sending warm Holiday wishes from a virtual Emerson Hall!