http://www.boxochocolates.com/chocolate/christmas-fruit-cakes.html Christmas fruit cakes are the bad boy of the holiday season. They have become the brunt of many a joke and have ended up as doorstops in many houses. Have you been unfair to the traditional Christmas fruit cakes and do you know the history behind them? en-us Sat, 10 Dec 2005 10:33:55 EST Sat, 10 Dec 2005 10:33:55 EST Weblog Editor 2.0 CHRISTMAS FRUIT CAKES....THE MISUNDERSTOOD CAKE Okay, go ahead and admit it. You probably have never even tried the dreaded Christmas fruit cakes because of the lore that has followed them for so many years. You only have to look at them to see why people are scared away. There are all those little green and red things and, to be quite honest, it looks like it has just been thrown together out of necessity with no semblance of history involved at all. Well, that's where you are wrong. You may think that the Christmas fruit cakes of today are an anomaly of the season, but, did you know that they have a centuries old tradition behind them? During the 13th century, dried fruit began to arrive in England from Portugal and the East Mediterranean. And, in the later part of the 1700's, England began distributing it to women who sang Christmas Carols on the streets during the holiday season. After that, Christmas fruit cakes just crept their way into the traditions of the season. It is also used in England for unmarried wedding guests who put it under their pillow at night so they can dream of the person they will marry. If the thought of Christmas fruit cakes is a little much for you to stomach, how about going with the old standard, chocolate . Now, there's a winner in the Christmas gift finals of a gift that just keeps on giving. Even for the hardest people to buy for, chocolate gifts seem like the right answer. Now that Christmas is well on its way, it is time to decide if you are brave enough for the Christmas fruit cakes out there or, if you need to look elsewhere for the loved one's on your list. Depending on who your friends are, you may even score points with that fruity cake that has Christmas written all over it. sf Sat, 10 Dec 2005 10:33:55 EST