We always had Turkey for Christmas Dinner. My father was from the first Generation born in the US of the descendents of his grandfather, Peter William Köpke. Dad always stuffed and cooked the holiday turkey. (My mother couldnt boil water when she was first married.) He stuffed it with a stuffing that his mother always made, consisting of ground Beef and Pork, onions, apples, raisins, seasoned with Garlic and bell turkey seasoning, always Bell and Salt and Pepper! (I added wine to mine.) Being a picky eater, I didn't eat much of it until I actually grew up, and then loved it and made it for my own family. (It may not have tasted like my Grandmother's, but it did taste a lot like my father's.) As could be expected, it was a heavy stuffing to say the least and almost a meal in itself. He never wanted the tree taken down until after the 10th of January. He also saved tobacco money all year, and bought his own gift that he put under the tree, and he never put the tree up until we were in bed Christmas Eve. He said she also made Eel Soup which he loved, but never made. I don't know where he would have found Eels in Hartford ct. anyway! I am not sure I would have eaten that either! During the depression he waited until the last minute and went to a turkey shoot for get a turkey (he was a very good shot. We never missed a holiday turkey.) The other thing was the tree. He bought it the last thing Christmas Eve, and frequently got it free. He was a quiet man who showed his love by what he did rather than what he said. Does anyone know if they ever make the soup without eels??? A substitute maybe? Dorothea -----Original Message----- From: schleswig-holstein-roots-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:schleswig-holstein-roots-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Tom Black Sent: Saturday, December 24, 2011 1:30 PM To: schleswig-holstein-roots@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS] How was Christmas celebrated? Maggie, More on fudgen. Gay makes extra batter and forms the leftover dough into cinamon or pecan sticky rolls and bakes them on Christmas morning serving them with the left over hams, fried. Gay says she thinks the breakfast roll tradition in her family originated with her mother. Also on our research of the name fudgen (feuden, futjen) there are many variations. Her guess is that the actual name is Low German and spelled differently by various families over time. Blessing and Merry Christmas, Tom