From Christmas envy to a tri-celebratory recipe

For the first time in 19 years, Christmas and Chanukah are aligned, and it warms my heart.

My introduction to Christmas was brief but memorable.  I was 10 years old, on a short road trip with my parents, somewhere in rural Victoria. At the end of our picnic lunch, my mother brought out a Paterson’s cake tin. As she prised open the lid, I could smell exotic spices – I’m guessing allspice, cinnamon, cloves - and a hint of brandy. It was my very first Christmas fruit cake. Soft, sticky, golden cake studded with plump raisins and bright red cherries, whole almonds and bits of orange peel. Unfamiliar flavours and smells, love at first sight.

My Christmas education came from movies and TV shows, from the coloured tinsel in the newsagent and from the carols by candlelight. It was a time of Christmas trees and coloured lights. It was a time when Australians sat down with family and friends, feasting like there was no tomorrow. A lot like the Pesach seder or erev Rosh Hashanah, and a little like Shabbat, but only once a year. But I knew nothing of the story of Christmas, and certainly nothing of Jesus.

The festive season evoked excitement, wonder and - I’m going to come right out and say it - envy. Our non-Jewish friends thought Chanukah was an equivalent thing and I can see why. It was celebrated around the same time, there was some gift giving (if you can count chanukah gelt, tiny mesh bags of gold foil-wrapped coins), we stuffed ourselves with latkes and doughnuts and we did sing a couple of tunes. But we all knew it wasn’t the same.

Years of Christmas envy inevitably led to my inaugural Christmas dinner. Wham’s Last Christmas was on the radio, it was 1984 and it was time to dive into the candy canes and pine cones, secret-Santa sharing, red and green hued world of our peers. We feasted on roast turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce and finished it off with plum pudding and custard.

I have a sneaking suspicion that we served ambrosia salad, that memorable-for-the-wrong-reason 1980s marshmallow, tinned mandarin and pineapple, coconut and sour cream “salad” as a side dish. 

As the years passed, my Christmas feast evolved. The decorations moved from tacky tinsel and Santa hats to more adult (and, I might add, definitely more classy) Haighs red, green and gold chocolate frogs and baubles, bright red flowers and textured green leaves. The menu evolved through the decades as I explored various iterations of a Christmas feast.

I ended up with a menu that has become the pride and joy of my cooking year. The feast always includes elements of an Australian Christmas, a Chanukah celebration and some of my Monday Morning Cooking Club favourites.

My pièce de résistance is a seriously delicious, 45 cm tall Toblerone and roasted almond chocolate “tree”. 

This year, erev (eve of) Chanukah falls on Christmas day. It last happened in 2005 and the next is 2148. I’m pretty sure I’ll be missing the next. This one feels like a moment to notice, even to celebrate, because the Christians and the Jews are connected, perhaps even more aligned than ever before, at this time. 

Both Christmas and Chanukah connect all of us, in some way or another, to faith, hope and the triumph of light over darkness. These two holidays also bring people together in celebration, reflection and gratitude. Since October 7, 2023 particularly, I feel that there are many Christians in Australia who are on our side, standing with us for what we believe in and for our people.

So, it is the perfect year to create a dish representative of Chanukah, Christmas and Australia. 

At Chanukah we eat fried food. Traditional Christmas fare is plum pudding, brandy custard and irresistible mince pies. Australian Christmas means lots of seafood and summer (read: hot and humid) entertaining. How about fruit-mince doughnuts? Or cinnamon and brandy fritters? Or fried plum pudding ice cream?

I have thought long and hard about this. How about a giant, golden crisp-edged potato latke (there’s the Chanukah bit) topped with lashings of rich sour cream (indulgent!), Victorian salmon caviar (a nod to Australia and it’s sort of red) and snipped chives (there’s your green!) Ticks all my boxes!

I am happy to be Australian, happy to be Jewish in Australia and I do love this time of year. I love it thanks to the Christmas jingles playing in my local greengrocer and in my dermatologist's waiting room, thanks to the full-on Christmas lights depicting Santa and reindeers around my neighbourhood, thanks to the beautiful wreaths adorning front gates, thanks to the towering, adorned pine trees all over Sydney. There seems to be a spring in everyone’s step, and you can feel the wonderful jingle-bell-humming anticipation of summer holidays. 

I looked up if Australia is actually a Christian country (or just a country with a lot of Christians) and it led me to the first census in 1901. The (non-indigenous) population back then was 96.1% Christian and, in the most recent census, that figure has dropped to 43.9%. We have a diverse spectrum of religions and cultures, thanks to freedom of religion and separation of church and state.

Though for me, if you live in Australia, even though it is not officially a Christian country, you don’t have to celebrate Christmas, but you really need to accept that it is a part of life.

In writing Jewish cookbooks, I am proud that we have some traditional Easter and Christmas recipes, as well as some quintessentially Australian ones, which are now made and enjoyed in Jewish homes across the country.  

My wish for this festive season? Apart from return of the hostages, peace in Israel and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran. That the useful idiots (for global jihad) masquerading as “pro-Palestinian”, stop trying to ruin this festive season. Imagine if, in the spirit of Christmas, they took a moment to learn the true story of Israel and the Jewish people. The Myer Christmas window unveiling should have gone ahead, the story of Mary and Jesus (who, even I know, were not “Palestinian”) should not be reworked and the carols concerts should not be disturbed.  

As UAE political commentator Amjad Taha wrote recently on X regarding the Islamist militias in Aleppo tearing down a Christmas tree: “If a Christmas tree is your enemy, you're not battling for freedom - you're waging war against freedom itself and the legacy of history.”

My other wish? If these useful idiots don’t like the way things are done here, they should find a place that better suits their needs. Support the country you live in or live in a country you support.

I wish everyone a merry Christmas, a happy Chanukah, a safe and wonderful festive season and a peaceful and joyous 2025. And, of course, am Yisrael chai!

A RECIPE: CELEBRATION POTATO PAN LATKE, SOUR CREAM, SALMON CAVIAR, CHIVES