Changes to technology and cultures have had an impact on how the holidays are celebrated, never mind how the traditional Christmas dinner is prepared.

Imagine having to cook a holiday feast over an open fire. For early 19th-century immigrants it was nothing unusual.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, most immigrants to the Kawarthas lived in a one-room shanty, although a few were fortunate enough to have a two-storey log home that allowed separate sleeping quarters. That one room housed most of their worldly possessions and the whole family, which might include six, eight, or even 12 children. To keep that room remotely clean and orderly took a lot of perseverance and labour.

The homes of most early European immigrants consisted of a single, sparsely decorated room. Anne Langton’s sketch of her brother John’s homestead appears luxurious by comparison.

Much of the family’s life centred around the fireplace, where the wife — or an adventurous backwoods bachelor — cooked and ate their meals.

The food that pioneer families consumed was largely determined by what they had; potatoes and barrelled pork cured in a salty brine and smoked were staples. Of all the European farm........

© Peterborough Examiner