A Bermuda Christmas table is a meticulously designed spectacle of indulgence – something that the word ‘cornucopia’ has never really been big enough to describe.
Turkeys and hams are standard fare for the festive season, but here on this little mid-Atlantic gem we add island accents like cassava pie, farine pie, fish chowder, fruitcake, Christmas pudding, peas and rice, mac and cheese, candied yams and more! Our Christmas food traditions run deep.
For veteran educator Joanne Anderson, the scent of Christmas has always been the smell of her mother’s kitchen: a warm, bustling hub where love was measured in cups of flour and spoonfuls of sugar.
As a child, Joanne remembers Christmas being an especially busy time for her family. Her mother, Joan E Simons, ran a part-time baking and cake-decorating business. Each December, their home transformed into a small bakery.
“People would order pound cake, Christmas pudding and fruitcake for the holidays,” Joanne recalled. “Leading up to Christmas Eve, in the early hours of the morning, you could hear the sound of an electric mixer whisking the eggs and sugar, and our mother moving around the kitchen, preparing cake and pudding orders – and the aroma of Christmas pudding, fruit and pound cake permeated throughout my home!”
Team effort
It was a true family operation. Joanne and her brothers each had an important role in preparing the cakes and puddings.
“We were either responsible for greasing the cake and pudding pans with Crisco and flour or mincing and mixing fruit using a hand-held grinder in a bowl.
“We were not allowed to handle the black rum, which was used as a flavouring for the pudding and fruit cake. We were also responsible for using a wooden spoon – or our fists – to mix the butter, flour, egg and sugar until the batter had a creamy consistency.”
“That mixing process could last 30 or 40 minutes,” Joanne laughed. “It was a great workout for our arms and shoulders.”
When the baking was done, the children helped wrap and package the orders. In the week before Christmas, rows of brown paper bags filled with cakes and puddings lined the hallway in their home, waiting to be collected. The house became a social hub, with family and friends stopping by to pick up their holiday orders and share in the season’s cheer.
Once the Christmas orders were filled, Mrs Simons turned her attention to preparing one of Bermuda’s most beloved Christmas dishes: farine pie.
“Yes, my brother and I were expected to help with that too,” Joanne said with a smile.
“Mom would boil the chicken, and we’d remove the skin and shred it into small pieces. She soaked the farine overnight, and in the early hours of Christmas Day, the kitchen would come alive again – the sound of the mixer, the smell of roasted turkey and ham, and the farine pie baking in the oven.”
Joys of family and food
Today, all those traditions live on. Joanne continues to bake pound cake, cookies and brownies for friends and family in the lead-up to Christmas Eve. I still have and use my mother’s weighing scale, which is older than me! I continue to use it when measuring flour and sugar for my pound cake and farine pie. Also, now you can hear the sound of my electric mixer late at night and early mornings.”
Her brother Cal has mastered their mother’s farine pie recipe and now prepares orders for family and friends.
“During the Christmas season, the familiar aroma of cakes and farine pies continues to fill our homes,” she said. “It’s our way of honouring Mom and carrying on her legacy.”
Beyond the baking, Christmas for the Simons family was about connection: the joy of gathering with aunts, uncles and cousins across the island. Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, and even the first Sunday in January, were all reserved for family celebrations.
“We spent each of those days visiting relatives,” Joanne remembered. “My favourite part was hanging out with my cousins and exchanging gifts. Everyone left with bags full of presents, and I couldn’t wait until I got home to open my presents.
“Although the gifts were nice, the most important lesson we learned was the importance of valuing family time and giving to others.”
The season culminated with the Simons’ traditional New Year’s dinner, a grand affair hosted at their home. Her mother set the table with fine China, silverware and special glasses; paper plates and plastic cutlery were a strict, “No-no!”
“The dinner was organised like brunch at Grotto Bay,” Joanne chuckled. “Every adult had a sitting time. And guess what – my cousins, aunts and I took turns washing the dinnerware and re-setting the table for the next sitting. It was hard work, but an awesome time of family bonding.”
The meal was a feast to remember: homemade soup, roasted turkey, honey-pineapple ham, macaroni and cheese, peas and rice, candied yams with marshmallows, honey-baked beans, steamed vegetables, farine pie, and those famous cakes and Christmas puddings. Of course, there was always a few cases of ‘mineral’ on hand to help wash all the goodness down.
“Christmas food preparation plays an important part in my family traditions,” Joanne mused.
“However, as I reflect on my childhood, several lessons were learned from my parents and spending time in the kitchen with my mom, brothers and cousins.
“Valuing family members and family time plays an important part in building and maintaining family relationships. Children need to be involved in family traditions, so that the skills of our elders – and their recipes – are passed on to future generations.”
Being the consummate educator, Joanne knows the inherent value of raising kids in the kitchen.
“Food preparation and service teaches measuring of ingredients, teamwork, time-management, organisation, and basic food preparations, table setting and etiquette, kitchen safety and hygiene.”
These are timeless lessons – lessons that transcend seasons, and become this culture we call Bermudian.
“We must hold on and preserve our family traditions and heritage,” Joanne concluded, “Because it is important not just to our family unit, but to the future of our children and society as a whole.”
