THESE ARE MY CHRISTMAS MEMORIES OF A TEENAGER FROM LATE THE 60S TO EARLY 70SIN CEYLON-SRI LANKA
THESE POINTS ARE NOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER BUT ONLY MY MEMORIES
- in December most Companies pay bonuses to the staff
- ON receipt of the Bonus -the household will start Christmas Preparations
- The Furniture will be Varnished
- House will be Colour Washed or White Washed And the Initial Floor Preparation-Waxing
- Christmas shopping will commence with the shopping for the Ingredients for the Christmas Cakes
- Shopping for in the Ingredients for the Christmas Wines
- Once The Christmas Cake is Done
- The ingredients will be fined cut and placed in Bowls that has a Bandy Based Brine for ingredients to get seasoned
- After A some Time when the ingredients seasoned has been done
- It is time for Christmas cake to be made-But prior the Christmas cake to be made you have liaison with the Bakery the Time for Cake To be Taken to THE Bakery To be Made
- Once all these details are finalised the Day has Arrived for Christmas Cake to be make with The Senior Members working as a team by taking in Turn to Beat the Mixture with Ingredients -AND The Children waiting for the Cake to be so that they can lick the Empty Bowl
- Transpiration of The Cake to the Bakery id done by using a friend’s car or taxi -not public transport
- Once the baked cake is picked up from the bakery -The Cake is Stored on safe place out of the reach of the children -so that no one can rob any portion of the cake it is time for the cake to wrapped
- They were sayinsg Almarah TOP Cake Have Chair Put And Take
- The Next step is the Preparation of the Wines as they Ingredients were Purchased when the cake ingredients were purchased
- The Wines preparation is done in a way so that -the people in the house and not allowed to interfere with this process in order they do not tamper or consume the wine wile in the process of preparation-common types of Wine -Milk Wine other Wine Beetroot Rice. King ..Coconut Water Wine
- The Men in the meantime will collection Empty ARRACK Bottles So that they will be able to purchase the required arrack required -Arrack purchased varies from the Cheap to the Expensive depending on whom the Arrack served to The Tavern will give you ARRACK for the Number of Empty Arrack Bottles you have
- When IT Came to wrapping the Christmas Cake the Team of Ladies would Arrived who were Experienced .initial preparation But Cutting the Cake Paper two types oil paper inter wrapping and Outer Wrapping Christmas Paper The Team will cut the different types of paper into the Correct Sizes .A Cake cutter was used to evenly slice the Cake and the cake cutter will pass the cut piece to the n0065t person who would wrap the Cake in Oil Paper And Then Pass on the next person who will wrap the wrapped oil paper cake with Christmas Paper who then passes to next person who pack the completed piece of cake into the Cake Box
- The DAY has Arrived for the Christmas shopping to take place the Family set off early in the Morning by bus to Pettah The Walk down Main Street Pettah is slow as the street has shops/ Payment Hawkers My Parents Knew which shops had the family Requirements and to which shop to buy the family requirements -After a good few hours are spent in Main Street Pettah -the Family makes it way To Fort .I remember A Trolley Bus Ride From Pettah To Fort -memories -now no trolley buses -IN Fort The Family shops at Millers . Cargills and Apothecaries also Santosha Finally after all the shopping is Done. The stomach is Rumbling looking for food. Then the walk down Chatham Street to the Chinese restaurant near the Clock Tower +-Where the food is tasty and filled all the Hungry Stomachs. Then the Long Trip BY Bus home
- Now the Christmas Gifts Are Wrapped the Floors Polished. Flower Pots Painter read for Christmas
- After A hearty Christmas Lunch And plenty of Lubrication. I time to rest and the Neighbour hood is wakened by the Suk Illi Band with An Instrument making a noise of WROM -The Noise of this instrument is Irritating
- In the Suburb where I lived the a Person who had Boxed for Ceylin at the Empire Games in the late 1930 .This Suk Illi Band woke this Person who was asleep after a Hearty Christmas and well Lubricated -.The Person woke from sleep disturbed by the Suk Illi Band with and got into a rage -Dashed the Drum on A band members head .hit the other band members with their instruments and the bank members ran away -from Then Onwards on Christmas day the Suk Illi Band with will stop playing their instruments 3 house before this person lived and three house after this person lived
