St. Catherine’s Day Traditions
Saint Catherine is connected in England with lace makers and in France with seamstresses, both probably professions populated by unmarried women. Catherettes (unmarried women over 25) were pictured on postcards, as above. The caption reads: “When will it be my turn?”
*Catherinette* parties for young girls are common in France, particularly those given by the couture houses in Paris for the *Catherinettes*. Guests wear exotic hats in Saint Catherine’s colors, yellow and green.
In English lace making villages, *Catterns Day* was celebrated with games and special foods, especially Cattern (or Kattern) Cakes. *Jack be nimble, Jack be quick* is a nursery rhyme associated with a game played on the holiday involving, oddly enough, jumping over a candlestick! Cattern Cakes are seasoned with caraway, and the only recipe I found follows:
*Bedfordshire Kattern Cakes*
A traditional recipe from Anglia
(Also known as Catherine Cakes, after Catherine of Aragon, who once lived at Ampthill Castle. Specially prepared for St. Catherine’s Day on November 25.)
2 pounds bread dough
2 oz lard or butter
1 oz caraway seeds
2 oz castor sugar
1 large egg
Prepare the dough, then knead in the lard or butter, caraway seeds, sugar and egg. When the ingredients are well mixed, divide in two, kneading one piece to fit into a 2 lb greased loaf tin. Divide the second piece into two and knead each half to fit a 1 lb loaf tin, then cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise until the dough reaches the top of the tins.
Bake 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.
Serve sliced and buttered.
Doesn’t that sound tasty? Castor sugar is like super-fine sugar. I read one place that the cakes were sweetened with treacle, which I think is a sugar syrup.
