A customary Mexican Christmas with method for Rosca de Reyes

The Mexican Christmas festivities last for several weeks, starting on Dec 16th when the first of the Posada parties start. The celebrations remember Mary & Joseph's journey to Bethlehem. Although initially a religious celebration, the Posada parties are now a big social celebration of the holiday season.

Every night until Noche Buena, December 24th, a party is held in a local home. The end to each posada is paramount by the breaking of piñatas filled with candy and toys. On the night before Christmas, families often attend Midnight Mass together.

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Although former children had to wait until January 6th, more families are allowing them to open their presents on Christmas Day. However, there are more celebrations to come.

On January 6th which is Epiphany, celebrations include:-

Freshly baked Rosca de Reyes - a big oval wreath made out of bread dough and decorated with dried fruit and sugar Chocolate Caliente - steaming mugs of hot chocolate Tamales - can be a lot of work to make - steamed dumplings of rich, spicy filling wrapped in corn dough. There are three leading components to a tamale: the wrapper, the dough and the filling. Although it's rather complex to make, no-one wonders why after they've taken their first bite!
Recipe for Rosca de Reyes

Ingredients

1 packet yeast

¼ cup of lukewarm milk

3 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cups of sugar

7 eggs

125 grams butter

1/4 aniseed

100 grams raisins

1 tsp vanilla

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Pinch of salt

50 grams candied figs

50 grams candied orange

50 grams candied lemon

50 grams candied cherries

50 grams candied citron

1 beaten egg

sugar

flour

Heat oven to 360° F ( 180°C) Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, eggs, butter, cinnamon, aniseed, raisins, vanilla and salt Kneed for five to ten minutes until pliable Place in a bowl, cover with a teatowel and place somewhere warm to rise (1-2 hours) Cut the candied fruits into strips Form the dough into a ring or rosca. Add the baby Jesus figurine. Place the ring on a baking tray decorating the top with the candied fruit. Leave to rise again for 20-30 minutes. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle over with sugar. Bake for 40-45 minutes

Remove from the oven and serve to celebrate Christmas the Mexican way. Remember, tradition says that whoever finds the figurine of the baby Jesus has to host the next party!

A customary Mexican Christmas with method for Rosca de Reyes

The Online Bookstore Phenomena - Is This the Demise of customary Bookstores?

There has been an plentifulness of technical innovation worldwide and the internet has in effect altered our former style of working. The advantage and opportunities ready via the internet does not need an introduction. Human lifestyle has been changing and doorstep services are being availed for everything possible. Online shopping of books has also changed over the years. Though former methods of shop-hopping for books still remains for the few interested, though most book lovers are aware of the online phenomena and look transmit to shopping for books online. The book lovers do have several options in India to buy books online. Moreover, these orders are delivered to one's doorsteps. What can get great than that?

But does this mean that former bookstores are heading for redundancy? Or would an obituary be written in the near future. The fact of the matter is online is the way to be. Hence the large former bookstore chains of India the world, have clearly understood this addition challenge of footfalls in their stores. With the online bookstores gift huge discounts of 10% - 40% and the rising prices of real estate maintenance also is a guess why former bookstores feel challenged.

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This is why most of them are now, changing their enterprise model to move into the cyberspace. Many brick and mortar bookstores are gently and steadily creating a web presence that offers value adds beyond the "buy books online" tagline. Though e-books are still an age away in India, the physicality of books is still prevalent, which would mean that the online bookstores would have to physically send the books to the man who has ordered.

However, the online bookstore enterprise may still be losing money and logistics could also be an issue, though in the future, they are bound to come to be profitable, as more and more consumers realize the inherent benefits of being delivered a book straight home! As of now the former constraint facing online bookstores is that the customers are wary of using a credit card online.

The Online Bookstore Phenomena - Is This the Demise of customary Bookstores?