Geese
Christmas
is coming, the geese are getting fat,
Please to
put a penny in the old man’s hat,
If you haven’t
got a penny, a ha’penny will do,
If you haven’t
got a ha’penny, a farthing will do,
If you haven’t got a farthing, God bless you!
This old rhyme has been spoken and sung for centuries and first appeared in print in 1885, ascribed to that well-known and modest author Anon. It is difficult to find any more information about it.
Goose was the traditional Christmas meat until the 1950s when turkey began to overtake it in popularity and availability. Goose was also roasted at other festivities, notably Michaelmas.
Goose has a short season, being reared naturally between September and December. In the UK, before most common land was seized under the Enclosure Acts, small communities grazed flocks of geese on open spaces in their parishes. Apart from the meat, which was much prized above other poultry, the birds gave eggs, feathers, down and quills. After cooking, the fat produced was used for medicinal as well as culinary purposes.
Goose quills were used as dipping pens until the 19th century. The pinion feathers – flight feathers on the outer edges of the wings – were used to make the flights or fletches on arrows as they were shorter and stiffer and would not interlock with other feathers. The most fortunate in society used down and feathers for their mattresses, which were a softer alternative to straw or horse hair.
Today, the most favoured – and expensive - duvets are filled with goose down to provide warmth and excellent insulation without great weight. Hungarian goose down is the supreme duvet filler. The geese raised in the cold climate of Hungary produce thicker and fluffier down, which provides greater warmth and superior insulation.
