Tuesday afternoon, I went down to:
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I attended this program:
presented by prestigious food historians and authors Dr. Don Yoder
and Dr. William Woys Weaver.
The basis of this event was the 50th anniversary of a ground-breaking
book, Christmas in Pennsylvania: A Folk-cultural Study
Dr. Alfred L. Shoemaker. Dr. Yoder wrote the introduction to the original
edition back in 1959 and then expanded on it in 1999. The edition
published this year now contains all that, as well as a newly-penned
afterword. In addition, a new section of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes
compiled by Dr. Weaver is included. During his presentation, Dr. Yoder
discussed various topics from the book. He highlighted particularly those
well-known aspects of our modern Christmas holiday that are rooted
in Pennsylvania Dutch (aka German) traditions.
The evening concluded with delicious offerings of yummy cookies and
cakes, spread amongst gorgeous gingerbread houses. All were prepared
by students of Drexel’s Culinary Arts Department.
All were quite tasty. I particularly liked the chocolate apees (apeas).
It was a festive start to the Christmas season. HUZZAH!
And finally, here I am getting my books (including Sauerkraut Yankees: Pennsylvania Dutch Foods & Foodways 
