Boxing Day

Cacao

A pinch of the Christmas story

God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.

John 3:16 (CEV)

A lengthier reflection for the day after Christmas

Cacao struggles to be classified as herb, spice, fruit, or nut. Cacao pods come from the Cacao tree. Split open, they reveal beans. The cacao beans when fermented and dried are started on a process for making chocolate and cocoa. Despite these production processes existing for a couple of hundred years, the manufacturing of chocolate is still mystifying to most people. However, the consumption of chocolate is enjoyed by people the world over. The world cannot get enough of chocolate.

For people all over the world, having chocolates at Christmas seems to be a tradition that has been around for forever. Take your pick from a foil wrapped hollow Santa, a chocolate covered marshmallow Santa, a box of scorched almonds or chocolate pralines, chocolate covered Turkish delight, peppermint thins enrobed in chocolate, round chocolate balls with liquid centres or any other number of chocolate treats. Countries, cultures, and families have different chocolate traditions at this time of year.

The practice of drinking and trading cacao goes back thousands of years, and the trade of chocolate has spanned the globe. In the forms we appreciate chocolate today, the historical period is much more recent. As much as chocolate seems a Christmas fixture, giving and eating chocolates at Christmas is relatively recent. The first solid eating chocolate was developed by British chocolate maker J.S Fry and Sons in 1830, although it would take them until 1847 to make the first modern chocolate bar. The first milk chocolate was created by Jordan & Timaeus in 1839 in Dresden, Germany. Giving chocolate at Christmas didn’t happen until the late 1800s. Easter bunnies, Santa Clauses and various other forms of hollowed chocolates were made for the first time by Anton Reiche also from Dresden, Germany from around 1870.

In my family, on this day after the Christmas Day feast and celebration, we seem to have settled into a routine of sorts. We sit and eat leftovers. We tidy up the wrapping papers and pick up the pine needles from under the tree. We look at the gifts we received, and we ponder how welcomed were the gifts we gave. Maybe we’ll eat a chocolate or two, enjoying the tastes and smells of Christmas as we reflect on the Christmas celebrations of this year. We’ll take a walk to the beach or have a swim, and possibly go to one of the extended family houses for a casual pot-luck late lunch or dinner. In the evening we’ll watch a cheesy Christmas movie. This is our tradition. Yours will be different.

What we travellers on the journey share though is that amongst all the rituals and traditions of our varied celebrations we pause to reflect on the greatest gift the world has ever received. We struggle to comprehend, explain, or understand this gift. This gift is bigger than the mysteries of chocolate, the traditions of our family Christmas, the cultural customs inspired by our geographical location and our country borders.

This is huge. This is God-With-Us.

For now.

For always.

We are travellers on the journey.

A Christmas prayer

Unwrap a Christmas chocolate (or if you have one, find a cacao nib or bean)

Shut your eyes and smell it.

Taste it.

Invite the mystery that is God-With-Us to be present with you this Christmas season.

Let your thoughts flow into a prayer.

Feedback

It feels a long time ago since the first day of our Pinch of Spice series when we started with a pinch of cinnamon. We end today with a pinch of cacao. If you’ve lasted this long, we’ve had 31 daily emails. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed journeying with you and appreciated the comments and emails I’ve received as we’ve travelled together.

I’d love to hear your feedback on your Advent journey.  What did you enjoy? Would you like to journey again with us next year? If so, what would you like to see done differently? What stood out to you as being supportive, helpful, inspiring? What helped you in your faith journey?

If you have any thoughts or ideas, I’d love to hear them. You can email me at caroline@kererupublishing.co.nz

This is the first year we tried an experiential kit to go along with our Counting Down to Christmas. We’re contemplating trying a kit again next year, although it will likely include weekly content, rather than daily content. We’d also aim to have it delivered internationally. If you bought a kit this year, we’d love to hear your feedback. If you’d like to participate with a kit next year, I’d also love to hear from you.

Don’t be shy about getting in touch! I will respond to all emails and look forward to our interaction.

May God-With-Us be with you this Christmas season

On the journey

Caroline