opposite Granny, and the mother beside the girl, facing
Keith. The father, on that one occasion, always occupied the
chaiselongue at the short end of the table, with the mother on his right
and Keith on his left. Beside him stood the hamper with its mountainous
pile of parcels.

Keith said grace with folded hands and bent head, and, of course, he had
to say it twice because the first time he swallowed half the words in
his eagerness to get through quickly. Then the meal began.

It opened with a light _smoergasbord_, hors d'oeuvres, literally rendered
sandwich-table: caviar, anchovy, sardines, shavings of smoked salmon,
slices of bologna, and so on. With it the father took a _snaps_ of
Swedish gin or _braennvin_, and after much pressing Granny consented to
take one, too. The main course consisted of _lutfisk_: dried and salted
codfish that had been soaked in water for twenty-four hours to take out
the salt and then boiled until it was tender as cranberry jelly. It was
served with boiled potatoes and a gravy made of cream and chopped
hard-boiled eggs. It was followed by _risgrynsgroet_: rice cooked in milk
and served with a cover of sugar and cinnamon. Wherever Swedes go, they
must have those two dishes on Christmas Eve. They have had them since
the days when Christmas was a pagan celebration of the winter solstice,
when dried codfish was the staple winter food, and when rice was the
rarest of imported delicacies.

Keith did not become interested until the rice appeared and the father
declared that no one could taste it until he or she had "rhymed over the
rice." Lena had to begin, and blushingly she read:

"To cook rice is a great feat, especially to get it sweet."

Whereupon everybody applauded, and the mother followed:

"Those who don't like rice are worse than little mice."

The father made them all laugh by saying:

"The rice is sweet and looks very neat, but now I want to eat."

The cutting of the cake, with its coating of sugar and its many layers
of custard ... the wine, port and sherry, poured from tall glass
decanters with silver labels hung about their necks to show which was
which ... the blushing native apples and the figs from distant sunlit
shores ... the almonds and raisins that tested best when eaten together
... the candy and the caramels ... the absence of restraint and reproof
... the freedom to indulge one's utmost appetite ... the smiles and the
pleasant words and the jokes sprung by the fat