Holiday Spirit
by Gail Lang

Each year ends with the warm feeling of the holiday season. In the Southeast this holiday spirit begins well before Thanksgiving and lingers beyond New Years' day. The reasons for the holidays are important, but I want to focus on the spirit of the people celebrating this festive season.

The Christmas tradition of giving and sharing with others is so wonderful. It was through this holiday spirit of sharing that I found a wonderful friend and mentor.

The Southeast, like much of the rest of the USA, contains a blend of many people. We are Southerners, but we are also Irish, German, English, African-American and so much more. The South is home to many talented people of different ethnic backgrounds. I met one such person when I moved to my new home seven years ago. He's a very simple man in his 70s. You often see him caring for his yard or casually talking to a neighbor or passerby. For a long time he was just "the neighbor", nothing more, nothing less, just the kind, elderly man across the street.

Werner came over one Christmas with his wife, Gerda, bearing a gift of the finest, baked delicacies you could imagine. He had spent many days in his kitchen preparing these and other fine delicacies to give to his family, friends and neighbors. It was his way of sharing the holiday spirit with everyone. I was touched by his kindness and generosity, but even more so by his talent. I discovered that the "elderly man across the street" was a "Konitor Meister". In the early 1900's in Germany he had been an apprentice to a Master. He was one of the last "Master Bakers" taught in the old way prior to the second World War. In his more than 50 years experience he has owned his own bakeries in New York, managed them, and taught his craft to others.

Here was a man so full of both history and talent, and I could have missed the opportunity to know him. Since that holiday season I have spent numerous hours learning the art of baking from him as well as the history of his life. He is quite fascinating! Every time we are together, whether baking or talking of history, it is like a holiday because of his friendship.

Over the years Werner has given so much to me; and now, as another holiday season approaches, we want to share some of our favorite recipes with you. These are not the normal "Southern" recipes you are used to seeing in magazines this time of year. They are the recipes Werner and I make each year to share with others. We hope you will make these treats to share with your friends and neighbors. Go and see that old man who lives on your street. Use this holiday season to make a new friend. May you share the warmth of the holiday spirit with others for many years to come.