In modern times, "champagne" is often a synonym for celebration, but during the 18th and 19th centuries, punch was often the chosen festive drink.
Celebrating with Joy
"Drink exuberantly, not with champagne, but with rum punch" was not uncommon. An advantage of punch has always been that it can be made in large quantities to serve a crowd with ease.
Before delving into these festive punches, a definition and history of punch are necessary. The earliest recorded mention is found in a letter addressed to a British East India merchant, Thomas Colley, in East India in 1632 by another merchant, Robert Adams, encouraging him to "drink punch without delay..."
During the following century, punch spread through the Caribbean, the eastern coast of America, and Europe, and was widely written about, evolving into subtly different beverages, reflecting ingredient availability, cost, and the season.
A Bit of History
One theory about the origin of "punch" is that it means "five," derived from the Hindi "panch," due to the five ingredients (water, alcohol, fruit juice, sugar, and spices) supposedly included in punch. However, one of the first descriptions, from 1638, describes punch as having only four ingredients: brandy, rose water, lemons, and sugar.
The name may also be a corruption of the name of a barrel of drinks onboard a ship, a punch.
The customary act of toasting is always practiced whenever a particular occasion gathers a party interested in the same theme: Christmas during the peak season.
Hot punch or "rejoicing wine" was, and still is, popular in Germany. A Christmas and New Year’s story in Nuremberg in 1842 describes how hot punch was served on Christmas Eve in "its punch party and large gingerbread hearts," the gingerbread decorated with almonds and "peculiar, as it was mixed with honey and often flavored with anise."
A Little Further South
In South America, a festive egg punch called rompope is made, along with fruit-based punches. An Argentine Christmas Punch recipe from 1951 does not specify quantities, so it would vary from one maker to another, and it shows little to confirm its Argentine origin:
In Honduras, a hot punch called devilish punch or Christmas Pineapple Punch is served, containing pineapple and aguardiente... On Christmas Eve, families prepare punch and other foods, including tamales.
Christmas and New Year punches include different ingredients and preparation methods. They may feature expensive or rare ingredients, such as champagne or pineapple; non-seasonal ingredients like milk or eggs; or seasonal fruits like tejocote and cranberries to emphasize the unique time of year. They might be flambéed, highlighting the mid-winter element of the celebration.
A constant feature is the atmosphere created when people gather around a punch bowl, sharing a communal beverage that has taken on symbolic meaning associated with the holiday.
