Sunday, December 26, 2004
LET THEM EAT CAKE Years ago at around this time of year, we received a Christmas well-wisher. My mother served him some panettone and explained that it was Italian Christmas cake, then she served him some stollen and explained that it was German Christmas cake and, finally, she served him some fruitcake and explained that it was English Christmas cake. Not the most worldly man, he was quite stunned by all of this and said (translating) “Praise be to the God of all creation, every country has its ‘cuto’” (gateaux – Lebanese is practically half French*). I have since dubbed that “The Cake Prayer” and I recite it often.
*Even the fundamentalists in Lebanon speak French – Hezbollah’s Al Manar television station has French and English news bulletins.
6:00 am
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