160 Christmas in Bruderhof with Diana Rutherford

Welcome back to the Christmas Around the World Series on The Storied Recipe Podcast!

This series began as a crowd-sourced post titled Christmas Desserts Around the World. As the Storied Recipe community shared their cherished Christmas recipes and the memories surrounding them, I really wanted to hear MORE. So I decided to expand on a few of these with a little mini series about Christmas traditions all around the world. You can find the entire series here.

Welcome Diana!

This one is a little outside the mold for the Christmas Around the World series.

You see, Diana’s childhood, the culture she was raised in, and the Christmases she enjoyed weren’t really defined by the places she lived, geographically. In fact, her family moved 22 times in 17 years.

Rather, her experiences were mainly defined by the agricultural communities she and her family traveled between. Diana was raised in the Bruderhof, a global collection of self-sustaining farms where all members surrender their personal goods (yep, including Christmas presents) and accept roles for the greater good of the community.

Although Diana ultimately chose to leave the Bruderhof community when she was 19, moving to NYC to work as a chef, she retains warm memories of some aspects of her rather unique childhood. Some of the best of these memories include Christmastime, which were full of German Christmas traditions like decorating simply with apples and candles, singing spiritual songs, and making classic bakes like these traditional British Mincemeat Pies she's shared with us.

From the time Diana was in high school she spent increasingly more hours in the kitchen (which she truly loved, although it was very heard labor) preparing daily suppers for her communities of 400 people. Thrilled to welcome Diana to the Christmas Around the World series today - and thank YOU so much for being here.

Highlights

Vision of the Bruderhof: People who wanted to live together, share everything, wear flowers, and run through the fields.
Why no members keep their jobs, titles, or possessions
Why Diana lived in 5 countries but associates Christmas with Germany
Bruderhof Christmas traditions: singing, simple gifts, communal nights, childlike, not gluttonous, simplicity
Happy memories: Fairytale snowy Christmases outdoors in nature in Upstate New York
Rations of 1 cup of sugar per person per month
Making sugar snow candy!!!
Christmas presents in a community that doesn’t believe in personal possessions
School from 7am to 5pm, including working on the farm and in the kitchen
Diana’s exposure to food from seed to table.
How much Diana loved cooking for 400 people as a teenager
Diana’s journey out of Bruderhof and how.
Why there was no Christmas cooking/baking at home
Which Christmas traditions Diana kept from the Bruderhof, and how her journey out of Bruderhof is reflected in her changing Christmas traditions
German Lebkukken: Gingerbread cookies as ornaments > food.
A special night 100 candles on the tree - Each person lights a candle and says someone you’re praying for.
Angel chimes and the time Diana’s pigtail caught on fire.
Mincemeat pies!!! Diana’s memories and lots of ways to make them.