Santa's Balls1 lb. Hot Sausage
10 oz. Grated Cheddar Cheese
3 cups BisquickMix all ingredients by hand in a large bowl. KNEAD WELL! Shape into small (ping-pong ball size) balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
As I said above I've kept it for years and never made it. I admit it isn't really a Wiccan or Neo-Pagan recipe as I picked it up at a Christmas event.
I've never made it for me because the spicy-hot sauage meatballs described above would seriously upset my digestive system, as I never inherited my father's cast iron stomach.
At the same time, I never discarded the recipe.
. . . .
I'm aware some Christians would be offended by the recipe's name. It's a tad raunchy. It is irreverent to the modern legendary nature of Santa. It is irreverent to the religious nature of the Christmas holiday. The irreverence is what makes the joke funny to some Christians.
However, the joke hinges on being rude. My Dad would have though the joke was funny. Yet, as a Southern gent he would have counseled me to simply call it spicy-hot sauage meatballs, "because you know you really don't want to be mean to people or upset them. There's no point in it."
Some folks insist there is a "War on Christmas." Christmas is under attack by secularists, atheists, communists, pagans ...whoever you want to villainize. (In December 2012, someone actually suggested that gay-rights advocates (?) might be part of the conspiracy against Christmas, because if gay-rights advocates can push through undermining the Christian message of Christmas it would undermine the Christian moral foundation of the USA.)
Secular and Sacred
I remember there always was a struggle between the secular and the sacred involving Christmas. (Born at the end of the 1950's, I grew up in a WASP household that celebrated Christian holidays: Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, etc.)
Somewhere in my teens, I realized there were actually three Christian factions struggling over defining Christmas and its "true meaning."
A. The first faction is "the good will towards all men" faction. This Christian faction wants the holiday of Christmas to be defined as a time to be be nice to everyone, to embrace the notions of peace, good will, compassion, generosity, and happiness. They want Christmas to be a time to express appreciation of friends, family and co-workers...etc. These people love Santa and stories about Santa (especially, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street), the Grinch, Rudolf, Christmas Angels, Frosty the Snowman, etc. They also like Dicken's A Christmas Carol, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story [aka "Christmas on Walton Mountain,"] and sundry Hallmark Christmas specials. They may love decorating for the holidays. They may love Christmas songs--sacred and secular. They may enjoy droping off a toy, or toys, for Toys for Tots or clothes (mittens, hats, coats, blankets) to clothing drives. These people want to focus less on the materialism of receieving expensive gifts and more on love towards one's fellow human beings.
B. The second faction is the "Jesus is the reason for the season" faction. These folks want to constantly emphasize that the primary meaning of the season is the salvation of sinners by the birth of Jesus Christ the Lord. These people are also very concerned with Christ's moral message. They love Nativity scenes. They love the Three Wise Men, because "Wise Men still seek Jesus." They hate the terms "holidays" and "Yuletide." They also like to spout, "Keep the Christ in Christmas" and may dislike the spelling "X-mas." (Their complaint against the term "X-mas" is odd because it isn't a secular label. It's from the Greek letter Chi (X) which is the symbol of Christ in Greek Orthodox Christianity, as it is the first letter of Christ when spelling Christ in the Greek alphabet.) These folks may hate Santa as a symbol of the secular Christmas which emphasizes buying material things for your kids. (I once heard a poem read aloud at a Cathoilc HS that described the image of the infant Jesus climbing down off the top of the Christmas tree and away from the "fat, bloated Santa" in his sleigh. The infant Jesus wrapped in a thread bare cloth went to the poor people to bring hope to the hopeless--indicating that the hopeless could look forward to heaven achieved through Christ.) "Jesus is the reason for the season" faction often contains people whining about "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947) in which Santa Claus provides miraculous intervention rather than a Christmas angel of the Lord, or Jesus himself. Besides, nobody attends Christmas church services in this 1947 film.
Others of this "Jesus is the reason for the season" faction state Santa is none other than good Saint Nicholas. They embrace the image of Santa in his furry red suit kneeling at the side of the the infant Jesus laying in a manger--as the secular must always kneel to the sacred. In Christian denominations that don't mind talking about historical saints, Christians discuss the life and deeds Saint Nicholas of Myra as a Godly man.
In any case, their primary meaning of the holiday is "Keep the Christ in Christmas." Some of the "Jesus is the reason for the season" faction seem to believe if you're not going to celebrate Jesus and the greatness and wonderfulness of the Lord and Savior, then perhaps you shouldn't celebrate Christmas or give stuff to other people. Furthermore, you shouldn't celebrate anything else in December as that takes the spotlight off Jesus. The "Jesus is the reason for the season" faction absolutely love the bible verses: Luke 2:11 and John 3:16.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Ultimately, they believe one should not focus on the humanitarian secularism attached to Christmas to the excusion of Jesus. Whatever they do, whether in word or deed, they do it all in the name of their Lord Jesus Christ. Charity-work should be done primarily to honor Jesus. Jesus the Savior is the most important thing there is--ever--at anytime, particulaly at the holy celebration of his birth.
C. The third faction is the secular holiday/commercial group. These folks include merchants, economists, and folks who like a celebration.
The merchants and economists want sales that make our capitalistic economy flow. They will cheerfully sell you anything having to do with the Christian holy day or fun holiday.
In truth, they will also cheerfully sell you stuff for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, New Years, you name it.
They sell practical Christmas gifts, indulgent Christmas gifts, Christmas food, Christmas cookies, Christmas cook books, Christmas decorative lights, Christmas decorative greens, Christmas cards, Christmas Santa hats, Christmas reindeer antlers, Christmas reindeer poop, Christmas blow-up lawn decorations, Christmas candy, Christmas cakes, Christmas alcoholic drinks, Christmas joke gifts, irreverent Christmas stuff about Santa, Christmas Nativity scenes, expensive Christmas tree ornaments, Christmas books, recordings of Christmas songs--sacred and secular, etc.
Economists explain that the U.S. economy now relies on consumer spending in December. The situation began after WWII when many Americans had more disposable income. Black Friday is known as "black" because that is the day that businesses can plan to be "in the black" due to sales for Christmas. Economists would like other holidays to increase consumer spending as much as spending on the Christmas holiday. One accountant quipped, "Maybe we should have Christmas four times a year--once for each quarter."
Other people who belong to this faction are those consumers who view Christmas secularly. They are not offended by the words, "holidays," "Yuletide," "X-mas," or "Christmas." They are interested in having a good time with friends and family. They might enjoy Christmas music, especially secular Christmas muscic including, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" (1952) and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (1979). These consumers were raised Christian, but they are not very religious, and Jesus's message for salvation is not important to them the way it is to "Jesus is the reason for the season" faction. They generally do not identify themselves as atheists, although they rarely attend church. They are not Jewish and do not buy any stuff associated with Hanukkah. They do not donate to charities at this time of the year any more than any other time of the year. They spend as much as they can afford on whatever they want for their own enjoyment of a purely secular holiday. They define Christmas as a fun time of year--period.
Within Christian culture, these are the three factions that struggle over the true meaning of Christmas. The non-Christians are generally off to the side of this struggle.
copyright Myth Woodling (Recipes cannot be copyrighted, however, Myth's comments accompanying this recipe are.)
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